Digimon Tamers: A New Take
by Kelly Cannon
Summary: Digimon Tamers told in a different way. The characters are older. Many outcomes will be different than the show. New twists and some characters even possibly go down a different route. There is one OC. Comments are welcome!
1. Chapter 1

"Claire alert!"

Takato Matsuki gasped as he woke up. A fifteen-year-old girl hopped through his opened window and tossed a skateboard onto his floor. He wrapped himself up in sheets and rolled over. She grasped his ankles right before tugging.

"Okay, I'm getting up! Sheesh, Claire," Takato laughed. He ran his hand through his wild brown hair before sitting up.

"It's your birthday, silly boy! It's time to celebrate!" his best friend exclaimed as she plopped into his computer chair. Claire unhooked her helmet, tossing it next to the skateboard.

"It's seven in the morning… Ever heard of sleeping in on the weekend?" he questioned as he stretched. His back cracked loudly, causing Claire to shiver. Takato smirked and added, "Still a bit squeamish, aren't you?"

"Never," she tried to hide her discomfort through laughter. Quickly changing the topic, she raised an eyebrow right before speaking. "You seem surprised to see me. I've been hopping in your window for four years now."

"And now I'll keep it shut so you'll have to knock."

Takato rolled out of bed. He stepped over to his closet to pick out clothes for the day. A plain white shirt was going to do it for the day. Something to keep him from being too noticed on his birthday. He enjoyed attention, but all the fake kindness on his birthday was a bit much.

"You've been saying that for the past _three _years."

The blond gave him a playful punch on the shoulder before handing him a present. Takato pointed at himself as if he was surprised. A roar of chuckles erupted from him when Claire gave him the "gray stare of death." He threw tissue paper at her to interrupt the stare. She huffed, but gave him a smile when he pulled out the blue jacket.

"Blue is your color, so I thought the hoodie would do," she admitted and gave him a thumbs-up when he held up to his body. He slipped it over his head, commenting on how warm it was. Takato began to thank her, but she put her finger over his mouth. "That's not all, silly boy. You didn't think that was all, did you? Check the front pocket."

Takato hesitantly reached into the front pocket of the hoodie. Claire was known for pulling pranks on his birthday, but he was surprised when nothing bit him or blew up. Instead, he felt two objects. One was definitely a notepad. He, smiling from ear to ear, pulled out the notepad. His other hand gripped the mystery object and slipped it out of the pocket.

"Digimon cards?!" Takato exclaimed as he began to open the package.

"No, no, no," Claire slapped his hands. Takato froze his hands, allowing Claire to explain. She smirked as she continued, "Don't open those while I'm around. I want to be surprised on Monday when you battle me, Kazu, and Kenta. Maybe you'll finally beat Kazu and graduate from 'chumley' to something more suiting."

Takato nodded and placed the cards down next to his card reader. He told his friend, "You didn't have to get me anything. This was more than I de—"

"It's my best friend's fifteenth birthday! You don't think it needs some celebrating? Besides, I don't get to chill with you the entire day like we usually do. Dad wants me home for 'daughter-father' time."

Takato felt a shiver go down his spine. He knew what that meant and his heart dropped. Claire started to put on her helmet, but Takato grasped it. He said in a low voice, "Don't go. I don't want yo—"

"Can it, Matsuki. I don't need your help." Claire's face and voice softened at the sight of Takato's hurt. She sighed before her classic smile appeared again. "Celebrate today, okay? I want you to have the best birthday ever. I want you to wish big and have it granted."

With that, she snatched her helmet away and snapped it back on. Before slipping out the window, she grabbed her skateboard. Takato ran to the window in time to see her jump. She landed on her skateboarded away before he could truly thank her for her gifts. He wondered how she could do that, but she did have four years of practice after all. The window was left open in case she decided to come back.

He couldn't remember eating that much cake at any of his other birthdays. That was the first time Kenta wasn't there to eat most of the cake. Actually, it was the first time Kazu, Kenta, and Claire weren't there to celebrate in a long time. _Years_ since he had a birthday with just him and his parents. It was nice, but he missed Kazu yelling, Kenta eating until he puked, and Claire accidentally breaking things.

His parents tried to make it as exciting as they possibly could, but baking bread as a birthday activity was the best thing they had scheduled. Their gifts were nice though. A bike will be much better than walking to school.

It was also the first year that he didn't receive anything Digimon from his parents. He asked about it, but they tried to shrug it off. After a bit more persistence, his dad admitted that Takato has been too old for Digimon for years. It was time to find a more productive hobby. His dad said he needed to pick of bread baking. He thought to himself after the speech, _Maybe… I am too old. Maybe I should get more serious about real things._

Takato collapsed onto his computer chair. The notepad was practically screaming his name. He reached for a pencil and began to doodle. Before he knew it, he had drawn some sort of red dinosaur. He laughed, realizing he had Digimon on the mind. He titled it "Guilmon" before he colored the dinosaur red. Information about Guilmon ran through his mind, so he copied everything down on other pages before he could forget. He found himself saying out loud, "I'm not too old for Digimon. I wish Digimon were real. Then my parents wouldn't be telling me to grow up."

Curiosity struck when he first said Digimon. He could see the card pack from the corner of his eye. Biting his lip in nervousness, he ripped the pack open. A groan escaped him as he looked over the cards.

"Crap," he started and tossed the first card over his shoulder. "Crap, crap, crap… Wait."

The first few cards were utter disappointments, for the cards were worthless or one he already had. A blue card caught his eye. It sort of glimmered and had a symbol he had never seen before. Feeling as though he struck gold, Takato ran the card through his scanner. The numbers began to go crazy and he face palmed.

"I should have looked it up first," he groaned. That's what happens when he puts faith in objects so easily. He shook his head when the numbers didn't stop spinning. "Now I broke it."

_Maybe that's my sign to grow up_, he thought to himself. He sighed and crawled into bed. The fifteen-year-old had never been so sad and defeated on his birthday. A tear welded up in his eye, but he fell asleep before he could shed it.

The scanner continued to activate while Takato slept. A light consumed the scanner. The scanner changed shapes into a D-Power. Takato's notepad lied next to the D-Power. The D-Power ripped pages out of the notepad and scanned the pages. Paper was spread all over Takato's floor before the D-Power finally stopped. An egg appeared on the screen and would swell every few seconds, as if it was breathing.

Takato mumbled in his sleep, "Too old…"


	2. Chapter 2

He noticed the D-Power after he returned from his shower. Takato immediately put it in his pocket and ran downstairs. The boy hugged his mother, who was covered in powder and smelt like rolls. She laughed, "Someone excited for school today?"

"Oh… No." He scratched his head in confusion before pulling out the D-Power. "Thanks, Mom! I knew you guys were pulling my leg."

"Is he okay?" his father asked when Takato scrambled out the door. He had Takato's backpack in his hand. "That crazy child forgot his backpack. Hope he didn't have any homework to turn in."

"He was thanking me for some electronic thingy. I'll have to ask him about that later," his mother mumbled as she continued rolling the dough.

Takato hooked his D-Power onto his belt loop before hopping on his bike and pedaling as hard as he could to the park. He couldn't wait to show his three friends the D-Power. His mom must have paid high dollar to have it made, so all he wanted to do was brag about it. The excitement practically made him blind to his surroundings. Someone yelling brought him back to the real world.

Gripping the breaks as hard as he could, Takato flipped over the handles of his bike. He somehow managed to land on his back. The boy he almost biked into ran to his aide. The blue-haired boy offered a hand to him.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to what was happening," Takato apologized after being pulled up.

"It's cool. Everyone spaces sometimes. You're Takato, right? I think we had math together last semester."

Takato narrowed his eyes as he looked over the fifteen-year-old, but couldn't recall his name. In fact, Takato didn't even recognize him. He stammered, "Uh…"

"Hen…" the boy started to introduce himself, but his voice trailed off when he noticed the D-Power.

"Nice to meet you, Hen, but I have to get going. I'm meeting up with some friends before school. Maybe I'll see you around!" Takato exclaimed before sitting back on his bike. It took everything in him not to laugh at the boy's chicken name.

"Wait!" Henry called after Takato. He was long gone on his bike before Henry shouted after him. Henry pulled out his own D-Power out of his backpack and examined it. He sighed to no one, "Where did you get that, Takato…"

* * *

By the time Takato reached the park, his friends were already packing up their Digimon cards. They were almost ready to ride their own bikes to school.

"It's about time, chumley!" Kazu greeted him.

"Didn't want to get your butt whooped today?" snickered Kenta.

"No! I almost ran someone over with my bike. But look!" Takato exclaimed as he showed them his D-Power.

"What cheap ass jerk sold you this?" asked Kazu as he shook it. Kazu started pushing buttons, but Takato snatched it away. Takato checked to screen to make sure the egg was still okay before releasing a long sigh. Kazu added, "Feels like crappy plastic."

"Yeah, if you drop it, it'll probably break," Kenta joined in on Kazu's jab. Takato knew that Kenta always went along with Kazu, but they had never used it against him before.

"If he likes it, then who cares?" Claire commented and gave Takato a smile. At least someone was on his side.

"It just makes us look nerdier. If he walks around with that thing, we'll get mocked even more!" Kenta exclaimed. Finally, his own train of thought. Takato was disappointed that it had to be against him.

"Please ditch that thing. I can't be seen with you and that nerd alert device," Kazu commanded before riding off on his bike. Kenta sped off to catch up with his leader.

"Hey, don't listen to them. They're probably just jealous that their Digivices look like the dumb ones off the show. Yours is more original and unique," Claire laughed, lifting up his spirits as always. She immediately glared at him and he froze in his spot. "You were supposed to use your new Digimon cards today, Matsuki."

"I've got an interesting story about that to tell you later!" he answered before riding away on his bike. She growled and chased after him. He called back to her, "You'll just have to wait until after school!"

* * *

"Takato, are you awake?"

He lifted his head up to see Jeri Katou smiling at him. Takato couldn't tame the blush that spread across his face. It was embarrassing to be sleeping in class, but _Jeri _was aware of it. Was he snoring? Was he talking in his sleep? The blush deepened at the thoughts.

His day was already going terribly. Kazu and Kenta were ignoring him. He couldn't turn in his essays because he left his backpack at home. Now Jeri caught him sleeping. Could anything worse happen?

"I think your egg hatched on your silly game," she giggled. The teacher hushed her and Jeri faced forward. She began writing down something on a piece of paper. _Probably science notes_, Takato thought.

Takato unhooked his D-Power off of his belt loop. Jeri was right, the egg had hatched. He tried pushing a few buttons to see if anything would happen. A compass appeared on the screen and made loud beeping noises.

"Mr. Matsuki, do you have a phone in class?" the teacher turned away from the board to address him.

"No," he started, but he stopped himself when Kazu stared him down. _I can't be seen with you and that nerd alert device_, Kazu's voice rang in his head. Takato lied to the teacher, "I mean… Yes?"

"Out of my class. _Now._"

Takato dashed out of the science class and accidentally slammed the door. _Way to not make a scene around Jeri_, he thought. He couldn't remember not having a crush on Jeri. Now she probably thought he was a nerd like Kazu claimed he would be. A groan escaped him as he headed toward the principal's.

The D-Power continued to make noise, so Takato took a second look at it. He noticed the compass pointing the opposite direction. He asked aloud, "Do… Do I follow you? I don't understand this dumb Digivice. Mom bought it broken or something."

Without realizing it, Takato had begun to walk in the direction where the compass was pointing. _What am I doing?_ It almost felt like the D-Power was _pulling _him in that direction. He let the D-Power guide him out of the school. He even let it guide him to an alleyway. That was where he drew the line.

"No, no way. I'm not going in there," he stated to the D-Power. He clinched it in his fist and dropped it to his side. He added, "I am too old for this crap. I'm letting this dumb machine guide me to the sketchiest parts of town?"

Mist appeared in the alley and poured out of it. Concerned, Takato ran into the mist to see what was happening. He cupped his hand over his eyes in a sad attempt to keep the mist away. An outline appeared in the mist and his D-Power went crazy. Takato dropped the D-Power and was ready to book it home, but what he saw froze him in his tracks.

A red dinosaur stood in front of him. Its ears were almost wing-like, but were too small to fly. It wagged its tail on the ground as it glanced at its surroundings. Everything about this dinosaur seemed familiar except the biohazard sign on its chest. The dinosaur let out a loud sneeze, sending fire everywhere. Takato jumped back to avoid the fire, but was still close enough to feel the burn.

"Wait… Guilmon?" Takato asked, still unsure of what was happening. Guilmon turned his attention to Takato. "You're real! Holy sh… I _created _you!"

Guilmon's eyes went from curiosity to anger. He bent over into an aggressive stance and let out a low growl. The Digimon called out, "Pyro sphere!"


	3. Chapter 3

Takato ducked, but the attack didn't come near him. He followed the fireball toward its destination. A bunny dodged out of the way and raised its long ears into the air. Guilmon let out another growl before sending out another pyro sphere.

"Bunny blast!" the bunny called out before spitting little green balls toward the fire. The fireball impacted the balls and disappeared on impact.

"Terriermon! What did I say about fighting?" another voice yelled at the bunny Digimon.

"He attacked me first! Don't I have a right to defend myself?" the Digimon sassed back.

Guilmon released another pyro sphere while Terriermon was distracted. The fireball sent Terriermon flying into the wall of the closet building. Terriermon attempted to push himself back up, but Guilmon pressed a foot on top of him.

"Guilmon, stop!" Takato begged. He picked his D-Power off of the ground and held it toward Guilmon. Takato didn't know what that was supposed to do, but it felt right.

Guilmon turned his head toward Takato. His eyes were still full of anger until he saw the D-Power. He backed off of Terriermon and his full attention was on Takato. Guilmon asked, "Tamer?"

"Um, sure," Takato answered. Guilmon stopped in front of Takato and sat down. Takato rubbed the Digimon's head slowly. When Guilmon seemed to enjoy it, he rubbed harder. "Hi, Guilmon. I can't believe this is real. I can't believe _you're _real. My name's Takato."

"Hey, you're just going to leave an injuried Digimon laying around?" Terriermon demanded, catching Guilmon's attention again.

"Digimon," growled Guilmon.

Terriermon was scooped into the arms of another human just as Guilmon was rearing up another pyro sphere. Takato stepped in front of Guilmon, who chomped his mouth shut over the fire. Guilmon hiccupped after swallowing the fire. Takato said to his new Digimon, "Don't attack people, Guilmon."

"Okay. Will Takatomon feed Guilmon now?" the dinosaur asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. Takato didn't understand how Guilmon could change from attack mode to friendly so fast, but he sure wasn't going to question it.

"Takato, how did you get that D-Power?"

"Hey, it's Hen!" Takato exclaimed at first. He held back his snickers at the name.

Henry made a noise of frustration and gripped at his hair. Terriermon, who was sitting on his tamer's shoulders, told Henry, "Momentai, Henry. He's not the brightest crayon, but he's at least got color. Most tamers can't control their Digimon right away. It takes ages for the Digimon to listen."

"Is he yours? Are there others like us?" Takato asked, secretly liking Terriermon's compliments. Granted, he called Takato dumb, but he complimented his tamer skills.

"You're the first one I found… Terriermon and I have been together for a couple of months. I've never seen anyone else with a D-Power until I saw you this morning. Then you were waving it around at school earlier. I had to follow you to make sure you weren't about to be reckless," Henry admitted. He was able to regain his patience again before he spoke. "I didn't know that you didn't even have a Digimon yet… I received my D-Power after meeting Terriermon."

"Are we going to be together for a couple of months, Takatomon?" Guilmon inquired, breaking the conversation.

Takato felt his blood run cold at the thought of Guilmon not being around for long. Even though they had just met, he knew he'd want Guilmon around the rest of his life. Guilmon was big, easy to spot by the public eye, and set things on fire. Takato didn't care. He'd find a way to make it work. He assured his new friend, "We'll be together much longer than that, buddy. And I'm not a Digimon. You're the Digimon and I'm a human."

"Takatoman?"

"Takatomon sounded better," Terriermon snickered. Henry jerked his shoulder, which unbalanced Terriermon for a moment. "Sorry! It's true!"

"Are you okay, Terriermon?" Guilmon asked the other Digimon. There were a couple of burn marks all over the white bunny.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" Takato exclaimed at the sight. He imagined Guilmon hurt and it was like he could feel the pain himself. Takato didn't want to think about if he couldn't stop Guilmon from attacking Terriermon earlier.

"He's been through worse… He'll be fine. He shouldn't have even retaliated to begin with," Henry told Takato. Takato wanted to ask how Terriermon had been through worse if they had not seen another Digimon, but he didn't want to pry. Henry's voice brought him back from his thoughts, "Where are you going to keep Guilmon? You can't take him home. Your parents would freak. I know mine would if Terriermon wasn't so good at being a stuffed animal."

Takato hadn't even thought about that. He glanced over Guilmon and ran through places in his mind. The best place he could think of was the alleyway they were currently in, but that was still too out in the open. Feeling defeated, his excitement over Guilmon deflated.

"How about that weird cement building in the park? No one goes to it and it has a barred door," Henry suggested. Takato actually knew what Henry was talking about. Claire showed him that building one day when all his friends were in the park. When Takato didn't answer right away, Henry added, "Terriermon could stay with him for the night so he's not alone on his first night."

"Don't volunteer me!" Terriermon exclaimed. Henry flicked him on the nose before he could say more.

"I don't think Terriermon likes me…" Guilmon said with sadness in his voice.

"He just doesn't know you yet," Takato reassured the young Digimon. Takato didn't really know Guilmon yet either, but he knew he had plenty of time to spend with Guilmon in the future. That was all he could think about.

"Right, so it's settled. It's starting to get dark, so let's take them there now." Henry turned around and started walking away.

* * *

"Why are you doing this to me? You owe me big time," Terriermon muttered to his tamer.

"You need to interact with friendly Digimon for once instead of those Digimon from the game…" Henry's voice trailed off. He didn't want to think about how Terriermon used to be pummeled in that game his father gave him. Terriermon was free now and would never have to battle again. Trying to lighten the mood, Henry continued, "Or you can come home tonight and I'll let Suzie have you for the night. You'll be Princess Pretty Pants for a _whole _night."

"Okay, okay. Don't have to tell me twice."

"Guilmon, stay here, okay? Please just stay. Hang out with Terriermon. He seems fun," Takato, who was smiling, told his Digimon.

"You think Terriermon will play?" Guilmon asked, revealing a smile of sharp teeth. Takato wasn't scared. He thought Guilmon was the coolest Digimon ever. Takato did create him, after all.

"Yeah, I think he will. I'll see you in the morning."

The two tamers closed the barred door behind them. Henry turned to Takato and said, "We should probably exchange numbers. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this anymore. We could always call if there's a problem or just want to learn more from each other."

"That sounds like a good idea. If Guilmon doesn't listen and runs out… It'd be nice to have someone to come help." Takato reached for his cell phone. They exchanged numbers and walked separate ways to their homes.

* * *

"I've been waiting for you, Matsuki!"

Takato winced as he shut his room's door behind him. He had skipped their after school Digimon card game as well as the morning. The questions were going to be flooded from Claire and he didn't know how he was going to answer them. Claire had never been told anything but the truth. Takato didn't see any reason in lying, but Guilmon was a bigger secret that he couldn't share without anyone but Henry.

"How long have you been waiting up for me?" he asked, trying to push off the inevitable questions. Claire was turned away from him and was looking out his window. She was upset with him.

"Three hours. I didn't know who else to go to. You're the only one I've ever talked about this stuff with."

The blond then turned around. Her left eye was almost swollen shut and was covered in black bruises. Claire was a cute girl, but the swollen eye almost made her unrecognizable. Takato wrapped his arms around her and let the beaten girl cry into his shoulder.

"I'm just glad you finally came home. I was afraid you decided to go to Kazu's for the night or something."

"No… I was just busy," he answered. That wasn't a lie. He just didn't go into full details of his events today. He changed the topic, "You can't go back home tonight. I'm not going to let you."

"Are you sure? I don't want to in—"

"Claire," he interrupted. He backed away and placed his hands on her shoulders. He carefully wiped a tear away that trailed from her right eye. "You've spent the night at my house so many times. It's never an inconvenience. I'll just tell my parents you're here and I'll sneak you an icepack."

It was ten at night, but he had told his parents about Claire—Kazu and Kenta too—staying the night way later than that before. He woke up his parents for them just to mumble "okay" and return to slumber. Takato quietly stepped into the kitchen and grabbed the icepack from the freezer.

Takato carefully placed the icepack onto Claire's eye. He wanted to say how she should stand up to her father, but he knew it wouldn't go over well. Claire hated having that conversation. She always refer to him by his last name when she was annoyed or angry, but when that conversation came up, it was either "dumbass" or something more obscene. She didn't mean anything by it… He'd be sore about the topic too if it was him.

"Thanks," she said with a slight smile. Seeing her smile after what had happened to her made him feel warm inside. He had made a friend feel better in a time of need.

He pulled a sleeping bag out of his closet and rolled it on the floor. Takato tossed one of the pillows off of his bed onto the floor. Before Claire could protest, Takato climbed into the sleeping bag. She deserved to sleep in his bed over him.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine down here," he interrupted her complaint. Sleeping on the floor truly wasn't a big deal.

For one night, Takato forgot that his life was about to completely change… Until he received a call from Henry at three in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

"Henry," Takato mumbled. As mad as he was that his new friend woke him up, something didn't feel right. He felt it before he even read that Henry was the one calling. Something was going on with Guilmon. When had realized it was Henry, a fear of what might have happened to Guilmon creeped in.

"How were you not already awake? My D-Power has been going off for the past ten minutes. I can't get it to shut up," Henry said loudly over the phone. Well, he sounded loud in the silence of Takato's room. Silence if he didn't count the soft sound of Claire snoring.

If Henry's D-Power was going off, surely his was too. Takato glanced around the room, but the Digivice was nowhere in sight. He asked Henry, trying his best to keep his voice low, "Um, what exactly is the D-Power doing? Is it flashing or making noises?"

"Both!"

Takato crawled out of his sleeping bag. He patted down the sleeping bag and felt a bump. A dim light could be seen through the bag. It was a safe bet that the sleeping bag was muffling the beeping, too.

"Henry, something isn't right. I've felt it since your call woke me up," he whispered into the phone. Takato hoped that Henry could understand him. "I've had this dreadful feeling about Guilmon and your call just made me feel worse."

"Meet me at the park. Let's just not panic yet, alright?"

Henry hung up the phone.

* * *

Takato had a tough time sneaking out of the house with a loud beeping and flashing Digivice. The hardest part was sneaking out of his room. Claire was right there sleeping. He pulled it off though and that was what mattered.

He biked faster than he knew he could ever do. Takato literally jumped off his bike when he spotted the cement building. The fifteen-year-old didn't even wait to see if Henry had made it yet. He yelled, while running up the steps, "Guilmon!"

"He's not here, but neither is Terriermon," Henry called out from the cement building. He was holding up his D-Power. Henry asked, "How did you get it turn to a compass?"

"I just pressed a button. I don't really kn—"

Henry's D-Power showed an image of a compass without him even pressing a button. It was as if it had read his mind or felt what he wanted. The two tamers followed the direction Henry's D-Power led them.

"I hope they're okay wherever they went…" Takato's voice trailed off. He didn't want to think about his new friend being hurt. All his life he wanted Digimon to be real. Guilmon was a gift he never expected to receive. Tears filled his eyes. "I should have stayed with him tonight. What was I thinking?!"

"You didn't know they'd run off. Don't blame yourself."

"Pyro sphere!" a voice yelled. _Oh no_, Takato thought. _Guilmon_.

The two tamers ran toward Guilmon's voice. The voice led them to the playground in the park. Guilmon spat out fire toward an Digimon Takato didn't recognize. The mystery Digimon dodged with easy with a front flip off of the slide it was standing on. Henry pulled out his D-Power and an image of the unknown Digimon was projected.

"Renamon. A data, animal Digimon. She's only a rookie," Henry read aloud.

"Bunny bl—" Terriermon started.

"Don't you dare!" Henry shouted right before scooping up his Digimon. Terriermon turned his head and shot the green balls away from anyone or any Digimon. "You've promised me you won't battle anymore!"

"She led us out here and attacked! She deserves it…" Terriermon mouthed back, but shut his mouth when Henry glared at him. "Fine, let Guilmon have all the fun."

"I don't want him to fight either. We have no idea what we're doing!" Takato admitted. He stepped into Guilmon's vision and waved his hands in the air. "Guilmon, stop! Leave her be!"

Guilmon ignored his tamer and began a rock breaker attack. Renamon danced out of the way right before jumping into the air. The Digimon crossed her arms and yelled, "Diamond storm!"

"Guilmon, run!" Takato screamed.

Guilmon met the diamond storm with a pyro sphere. Some of the diamond crystals were destroyed, but the rest ran into Guilmon. The crystals kicked up a cloud of dirt and dust, making Guilmon invisible to Takato.

"Why won't he listen to me?" Takato bawled and fell to his knees.

The dust and dirt settled, revealing that Guilmon was perfectly okay. Relief rushed through Takato, but it was immediately replaced with dread. A red-headed girl stepped up next to Renamon and pulled out a D-Power.

"He won't listen to you because you are a low life that doesn't deserve to be a tamer. Your dumb dinosaur doesn't fear you and understand that you are the one in charge. Pathetic," the red-head laughed. She appeared to be Takato and Henry's age, but neither recognized her. The girl continued, specifically talking to Henry, "Are you two going to fight me? Or is the little guy too afraid?"

"I am not afraid! Let me at her, Henry!" Terriermon struggled against his grip, but couldn't break free. Henry knew that Terriermon could break free if he really wanted to, but he held back for Henry's sake.

"I… I won't let you get hurt again." Henry's voice was soft and kind to his Digimon.

"Stupid, Digimon. I will defeat him, Rika, and absorb his data," Renamon said in a monotone voice.

"Good. Those two will do nicely. Then you'll have enough strength to Digivolve," Rika spoke smoothly. She smirked as she pulled out a Digimon card.

Takato couldn't believe what he was hearing. It sounded like this tamer and Digimon _killed _other Digimon for fun. Digimon was a game and all they wanted was to conquer it. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he searched his hoodie pocket in hopes he'd stuffed a card in there. Luckily, he had left one. Takato held it in the air just like Rika had.

"Don't make me laugh. You'll never win," laughed Rika. She slashed the card through her D-Power. "Digi-Modify! Power activate!"

"Henry, Guilmon's going to need my help," Terriermon warned. His tamer ignored him.

"Run!" Takato commanded Guilmon.

For once, Guilmon appeared to hear Takato. He turned to his tamer and cocked his head to the side. Guilmon smelt the air and smiled at the smell. The Digimon started, "Takatomon, you smell like bre—"

Renamon kicked Guilmon's head, which knocked him to the ground. Resting a second before standing back up, Guilmon ran to his tamer and grasped at his leg. Guilmon rubbed his head and said, "That hurt, but all I can think about is how you smell so good, Takatomon."

Takato, wrapping his arms around Guilmon, yelled to Rika, "We don't want to fight! Just leave us alone!"

Rika's face softened for a moment as she looked at Renamon, but immediately turned back to the cold slate she was. She scoffed before walking away, "This one time. Only because it would be a shame to have such an easy victory. If we ever meet again, we will fight until the end."

The two tamers watched Rika until she was out of their vision. All four returned to the cement building in silence. Well, as silent as Guilmon could get. He said "ohhh" and "ahhh" at every different animal he saw on the way. The two Digimon went back to sleep and rested from their short battle. Takato and Henry sat parallel from one another.

"Is that what being a tamer is all about?" Takato asked, breaking the silence between the two new friends. He gripped his D-Power tightly as he thought. "If all we're suppose to do is fight… I'm not sure I could do that to Guilmon."

"Battling does nothing but bring harm to either you or the other person," Henry answered, but didn't look at Takato. He kept his eyes on the ground. "Digimon are living creatures just like you and me. They don't deserve to be treated like Rika acts. No wonder Renamon sounded like a machine. All she's been taught is to fight."

"Good, I was hoping you'd say something like that."

"School starts soon. I think Rika has school too, so the Digimon should be safe here until after school," Henry told Takato. Takato hesitated, but nodded.

* * *

"Man, why has Takato been such a spaz lately?" Kenta asked when he and his two friends stepped onto school grounds.

"Who knows? Maybe he's knocked a cog loose in his head," Kazu teased. Kenta shrugged in response. Talking to Claire, Kazu questioned, "Weren't you at his house this morning?"

"Yeah, but he was gone when I woke up," Claire answered. She glanced around the school yard in hopes of seeing their friend.

"Who just ditches you at their house like that? Rude."

Claire spotted Takato walking with someone she didn't recognize. The mystery boy noticed her staring and gave her a smile. He got Takato's attention and nodded toward her. Claire felt her face go red and turned away. She told Kazu and Kenta, "I think I found out why he's ditched us two days in a row."

The two friends glanced the same direction Claire was originally looking. Kenta commented, "Isn't that Henry Wong? I didn't even know the two knew each other existed. The four of us and Henry live on different planets practically."

"Chumley is trying to move onto new friends, huh? I knew he didn't like us anymore. Good riddance then!" Kazu shouted and waved an arm in the air. He stomped away and into the school.

"Overdramatic as always… But I think he's right," Kenta sighed.

"You know that's not true. Takato loves us more than anyone could love a friend," Claire shot at Kenta, defending her friend. She snuck another peek at Takato and Henry. The two guys were still staring their way and talking. Claire turned to say something back to Kenta, but he was gone. She sighed, "Something's up and I'm going to find out what it is when school lets out."


	5. Chapter 5

"Who's that looking over at us?" Henry asked when the two had stepped onto school grounds.

Claire was staring their way. Takato was surprised to see her blushing. That was so… Unlike her. Then it hit him. She was probably embarrassed about last night. His friend needed him and he ditched her in the morning. It was probably really embarrassing for her to explain to his parents why he wasn't there. Takato groaned, "That's Claire. She's going to kill me later."

"Not if we meet up again after school. I'm sure the Digimon are starving. I was going to bring them food this morning, but then we had all that mishap with Rika."

"Guilmon keeps obsessing over how I smell like bread. We should take the day old bread from my parent's store and take it to them. It's still good bread and my parents won't miss it," Takato suggested. Henry nodded in agreement. Takato lifted his arm and gave his armpit a quick smell. "Do I really smell that strong of bread?"

"You live in a bread store. What did you expect?" Henry laughed.

"I don't know. I can't smell it!"

Henry laughed again and shrugged. The two tamers then walked into their classes.

"Takato is going to fail science if he doesn't start turning in assignments," Jeri barked through her dog puppet as Takato sat at his desk. She made the puppet bark one more time before setting it down. The girl giggled at Takato and turned back to front.

Takato's face burned red, so he buried his face in his arms on the desk. When he left to find Guilmon early in the morning, he left almost all of his school necessities behind because he thought he'd return. He couldn't have been more wrong. In his deliriousness, he stumbled to school with Henry. Henry left his belongings behind also, so Takato found some comfort in that.

He thought on the bright side instead of focusing on the sad stuff. Somehow, he managed to remember a pencil. His mind jumped to even better thoughts. If he failed out of school, at least he'd still be a tamer. Granted, his parents would kill him, but Takato would be able to live out a dream only few have the privilege of experiencing.

"You and your silly Digimon," Jeri giggled, bringing Takato out his thoughts.

Absentmindedly, Takato had drawn Guilmon on his desk. Trying not to panic around Jeri like he normally would, he responded with, "That's Guilmon. He's not silly. He's really cool."

"I think he's cute. Are all Digimon that cute?"

Takato's spirits lifted at Jeri's question. Digimon was the one subject he could talk to anybody about. He turned to her and beamed. "Well some are, but are super powerful anyways. Then there are terrifying ones that are just truly big teddy bears. Guilmon can be scary, but he's a teddy bear."

"You talk about Guilmon like you actually know him. I wish I was that passionate about something."

"Mr. Matsuki!" the teacher called out. Takato lowered his head while he slowly turned toward the teacher. The teacher continued, "You are failing this class. Should you really be talking right now? You're distracting your classmates that are actually doing well. Maybe instead of talking make-believe, you should talk to Ms. Katou about tutoring you."

"Yes, sir," Takato formally responded, but kept his head down.

_Maybe if this was a class about the science behind Digimon, I'd be interested_.

* * *

"You brought bread!" Guilmon yelled before the tamers even made it to the hideout.

"Finally, I was beginning to think you were punishing me for something," Terriermon said as he jumped into Henry's arms. He snatched the bread out of his tamer's hands and began eating.

Takato dumped a backpack full of bread onto the ground for the two Digimon. Guilmon practically ate half of what Takato brought in one bite. Terriermon dove into the bread and stuffed his face as much as he could before Guilmon ate more.

"Your assumption was correct. Guilmon's going crazy about that bread!" Henry chuckled at how fast the dinosaur was eating.

"Takato! Are you up there?" a voice called.

"Oh no, that's Claire," Takato warned Henry.

The two tamers stepped out of their hideout and closed the gate behind them. Takato could see Claire at the bottom of the stairway, so he began to walk down to her before she came closer. He hoped Guilmon would be quiet enough so Claire wouldn't hear.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Takato. His voice was so uneasy that even Kenta, without Kazu's help, would have known something wasn't right.

"Yeah, okay. What's up there?" Claire demanded. She pointed where the Digimon were being kept. Takato froze. He couldn't lie to his best friend.

"You're Claire, right?" Henry tried to divert her attention from the hideout. His voice was smoother than Takato's. Takato knew to just let Henry talk for the moment.

"Don't try to act like you care who I am, Wong. I'm talking to _my _friend. Not you." Claire was on the peak of anger.

"Well, a friend of Takato's is a friend of mine. I've heard about you from him," Henry quickly responded. Technically, Henry wasn't lying. Takato had mentioned her for a moment earlier in the morning.

Claire blushed and didn't respond. Her eyes darted to Takato and just froze. Takato felt nervousness swell up inside and said to Henry, "I think you broke her. She's never silent."

"Takatomon, look out!" Guilmon called from the hideout.

Takato was shoved to the ground. He rolled onto his back to view his attacker. Rika and Renamon towered over him. Claire was never looking at Takato to begin with. She had spotted a real Digimon. A secret Takato had hoped to keep from her, but Rika ruined any chance of that.

"I gave you time to get better. Now let's rumble!" Rika exclaimed. The red head noticed Claire staring at Renamon. Rika chuckled, "Are you another useless tamer? Renamon will take down your Digimon while she's at it."

"If that's what you wish, Rika," Renamon responded.

"Y-Y-You're real!" Claire finally spoke.

"I know you're trying to understand this, but move it so those that do know what's happening handle it!" Terriermon spat at Claire as he flew onto Henry's shoulder.

"Don't talk like you're going to battle!" Henry exclaimed to his Digimon.

Guilmon was standing by Claire. He gave her a big sniff before smiling. The red Digimon told her, "You smell like Takato. Why doesn't Henry smell like bread?"

"Henry, this is unavoidable. Let me put Rika and Renamon in their place! I can win and you know it," Terriermon practically begged his tamer.

"I don't care who goes first, but you both will fight," commanded Renamon. Takato couldn't understand how Renamon could be so emotionless. He then remembered that Rika was her tamer.

"Guilmon, I'm begging you to stay out of this one," Takato said to his Digimon. He already had Claire to worry about, so he didn't need Guilmon defying him yet again. Guilmon surprising nodded and sat next Claire.

"Why are you pushing your Digimon so hard?" asked Claire, finally comprehending what she was seeing. She wasn't questioning how they came to be and accepted what she saw as the truth. How would come later though and Takato didn't even know how himself.

"Digimon only get stronger through battling. Renamon is the best out there and loading these two's data will allow her to Digivolve," Rika started. She huffed and rolled her eyes at the three's expressions. "You all couldn't be anymore dense. Stop cuddling with your Digimon at night and actually act like a true tamer by fighting."

Terriermon jumped off of Henry and landed in front of Renamon. Henry attempted to snatch his Digimon back up, but Terriermon dodged and began to attack. The Digimon shouted, "Terrier tornado!"

Terriermon spun so fast that he became a green blur. His body was like a whirlwind and smacked into Renamon. The fox Digimon staggered back, but wasn't too affected by the attack. Renamon crossed her arms right before simply saying, "Diamond storm."

"No, Terriermon!" Henry yelled. His D-Power made a loud noise and the screen lit up. Realizing what was happening, Henry grasped the D-Power. "No, you promised me you'd never do this again!"

_Digivolution_.


	6. Chapter 6

Gargomon towered where Terriermon once stood. The champion level Digimon took the diamond storm like it was nothing. Renamon appeared to be surprised, but she hid her emotions away again. In retaliation, Gargomon called out, "Gargo laser!"

A green laser shot out of Gargomon's gun. Renamon, still in shock of the digivolution, took the hit straight on. The fox flew backwards and almost into Rika. Rika yelled at her Digimon to stand up, but Renamon was struggling.

"He's really powerful," Takato said to Henry. It was supposed to be a compliment, but Henry didn't take it as such.

"This isn't supposed to be happening," Henry responded in the calmest voice he could muster up. The panic was written all over Henry's face. "He can't control himself at this level."

Gargomon aimed again at Renamon and fired. Green bullets slammed into the fox Digimon. Renamon began to fade in and out as she tried to grasp a hold of her data. She was fighting a losing battle and Gargomon was about to kill her.

"Gargomon, stop!" Takato shouted before Henry could.

The champion Digimon turned Takato's way. Gargomon's expression revealed that he too was panicking and couldn't control himself. His gun was aimed toward Takato and Claire. Claire gasped, "He wouldn't really shoot us, right, Takato? He's on your side."

Henry jumped in front of the two friends. His arms were spread wide and his D-Power in his left hand. The tamer yelled, "Stop this. You _do not _kill Digimon. You sure as hell don't attack people either."

Gargomon was able to lower his gun, but for good measure, Guilmon tackled him. Guilmon pinned Gargomon to the ground. Losing control again, Gargomon's guns went off. Bullets went every direction. Henry shoved Claire and Takato away from a line of bullets. Takato led Claire to behind a tree before running back into the heat of battle.

Instead of leaving the two Digimon alone, Renamon kicked Guilmon off of Gargomon. While Gargomon was still down, Renamon began pounding away. She continually punched the giant bunny in the face. Gargomon was losing energy. With each punch from Renamon, Gargomon grew smaller and his features began to morph to Terriermon's features.

"Leave him alone!" Claire shouted before shoving Renamon. She knelt down next to Gargomon, who was no longer had guns to shoot, to check on him. Gargomon was finished de-digivolving into Terriermon.

"Renamon," Rika simply said. It sounded like a command.

Renamon slapped Claire across the face for interfering. Claire held a hand to her face in shock. Renamon even appeared shocked that she did that. She glanced back at Rika before disappearing into thin air.

"Dumb piece of shit," Rika mumbled. Renamon was a coward and she was going to fix that. She had to. Rika didn't want to be stuck with someone who didn't want to win as bad as her. No defenseless, Rika began to run away. She called over her shoulder, "This isn't over."

"Takato, do I chase her?" Guilmon asked, already set to dash after the red head. Takato patted him on the head and told him no. "But she made Renamon attack Claire. Am I not allowed to do that?"

"Rika was wrong by doing that. Rika is all kinds of wrong, Guilmon. I promise to treat you better than that," Takato answered him. He wrapped his arms around Guilmon and tears filled his eyes. "Did you see how Renamon was almost killed? She would have killed Terriermon if Claire hadn't stepped in."

Henry scooped up Terriermon into his arms. The Digimon was passed out from the battle and severally bruised. Terriermon was still breathing, so he would be fine eventually. He shook his head at poor Terriermon. Henry turned his attention to Claire, who was still holding her face. He noticed that she also had a black eye. Claire wasn't new to being beat. He lightly touched her cheek and asked, "Are you okay?"

Claire pushed her hand away in agitation. Henry was surprised by her reaction, but he kept his composure. He didn't deserve her anger, but she had been through a lot in a short amount of time. Claire told him, "I'm fine. Bruises heal. Terriermon is in rough shape though. Is there anything I could do to help? I'm a part of this now and I'm not going to be a sitting duck."

"What do you mean you're a part of this now?" Takato countered Claire. He pointed the direction Rika ran off to. "Wasn't that enough to scare you off? A Digimon _attacked _you!"

"I'm not going to let my dumb, ignorant friend run off on an adventure without me. You're crazy if you think I don't want any part in this."

Claire was too stubborn for her own good. Digimon wasn't a game anymore. It was serious business. She could get hurt, kidnapped, or worse… _Killed_. Takato opened his mouth, but Henry spoke first, "Okay. You're in."

"What?!" Takato exclaimed.

"She risked herself for Terriermon. She doesn't even know the two of us and… Renamon could have killed her."

"And that's the exact reason that I don't want her involved," Takato practically begged.

"I like Claire, Takatomon. She smells like you," Guilmon said his input. Claire patted him on the head as a thanks. Takato blushed at "she smells like you."

"I know Terriermon would agree to it if he was awake. You're out voted," Henry said, hinting at a smile. The bit of smile disappeared when he looked back at his Digimon. "I think we need to stay the night here. I can't take Terriermon home like this. Suzie will notice and call me out on it. Plus, if Rika comes back…"

"I can go get my cards from the playground. Rika used her cards to modify Renamon the battle before. I have an idea that might give us an advantage," Takato schemed. "I can pick up more bread too from the bakery."

"I have cards too," Claire threw in. She crossed her arms as she thought. "I think I took mine home though. I can grab an icepack or two for his bruises."

"Takato, tell your parents you're staying the night with me. I'll tell my parents I'm staying with you. Claire, since you've stayed with Takato before, tell your parents you're staying again," added Henry.

"I don't even have to tell them," Claire mumbled.

With that, Takato and Claire left to do their deeds.

* * *

Henry had fallen asleep holding an icepack to Terriermon. He would jerk around every few minutes, but would not wake himself up or Terriermon. The duo had a long, stressful day, so Takato, Guilmon, and Claire were careful not to wake them.

"I see why Henry didn't want Terriermon to fight. Just look at him," Claire said in a low tone. The bunny appeared in much better shape, but was still bruised. The Digimon was healing quicker than a human, so he would be better by morning. "Maybe the reason he fell so easily was due to the fact that he doesn't fight. Rika did say fighting makes Digimon strong."

"You're taking advice from Rika?" Takato joked. Claire rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Takato, being serious, said, "Henry is right by not letting Terriermon fight, but he's also wrong. Some fights are necessary. This war we've started with Rika… Battling has become necessary. Especially since she's attacking people, too."

"Will I get to fight next time?" Guilmon questioned.

Takato's D-Power lit up and made a loud noise. Henry's simultaneously went off. The blue-haired boy was scared awake and almost tossed Terriermon in the air. The noises were so loud that it even woke up Terriermon.

"Another sleepless night," Henry groaned. _Says the one that was just sleeping_, Takato thought.

"Digimon," growled Guilmon. He was hunched over, already set to battle.

"Is it Rika?" Claire asked.

"I don't think so. The D-Power went off the first time because Rika was attacking our Digimon. It didn't go off earlier. I think this is different," answered Takato. He stared at the D-Power's screen.

Terriermon hopped onto Guilmon's head, grasping onto his ears. He looked over his shoulder at Henry and announced, "There's a Digimon to battle and I'm ready to go."

"You are not going to ride Guilmon off into the moonlight to chase Digimon!" Henry exclaimed. He reached for Terriermon, but Guilmon happened to turn his head away to speak to Takato.

"Momentai, Henry. We're made to fight and be cuddly."

"Takatomon, this Digimon is big and cold. We need to hurry," Guilmon warned before running out of the cement building. Terriermon held on tight as Guilmon ran.

The three friends followed the Digimon into the city. Takato was thankful it was late at night and no one was on the streets. He became even more thankful when they came to a stop at a frozen building. Literally, the whole tower was covered in ice.

"Well, now we're sure it's not Rika," Claire commented.

The confirmation became stronger when the trio saw Rika run up to the building. Renamon appeared by her side. Rika snapped her fingers and Renamon kicked the frozen door in. The pair disappeared into the building.

"Guilmon, we're going in, too," Takato told his partner. Guilmon smiled in anticipation.


	7. Chapter 7

**sonofthetrigod- thank you so much ^_^ and you'll see in due time ;)**

**SnakeGear- if you have any suggestions on how to improve, please let me know! I'm here on fanfiction because I had a different idea to Tamers and wanted to use it to improve my writing :)**

**Well, here is the first HUGE difference in this story than in Tamers! Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

Rika reached the top floor before she finally saw a Digimon to battle. She pulled out her D-Power to get a reading on the mysterious Digimon. The red-head read aloud, "IceDevimon, champion level."

Renamon's fur stood on end at the sight of the ice devil. He was bigger than any Digimon that she had seen yet. She knew Rika was going to command her to fight. Renamon still hadn't digivolved yet, so there was no way she could beat this guy.

"Welcome to my digital field, Digimon queen," IceDevimon greeted her. The ice devil smiled at her both scooping her up into the air.

"Rika!" Renamon called out, but Rika shook her head. If IceDevimon was going to hurt her, he would have already done it.

"What do you want with me? You're going to give me frostbite," groaned Rika. She just wanted Renamon to absorb this loser's data and get out.

"You. I want you," he started off with. Rika gasped as the air became colder. "You and I… We're the same. Cold hearted and willing to do anything to be the best."

"I only want what I deserve." Rika stifled her annoyance. She was already losing her patience with IceDevimon.

"I've been searching for a tamer with such skills. I want you to be my partner. I even set up a display of what I can do."

The room light up at the word "display." Icicles hung from the ceiling concealing Digimon. All of their faces expressed sadness or fear. Rika wanted to free them, but it was already too late for them. A strange feeling of empathy crept into her heart.

"At your command, I will destroy them all and absorb their data. Just say the word and we're partners," IceDevimon spoke smoothly. His voice was almost lulling her.

"I… I already have a partner," Rika told him. She was confused at her own words. Didn't she want the best? Wasn't her dream was to be best tamer?

"Why settle for less when I'm so much more? You've never settled for second best before," his voice continued to lull her. Her mind was then settled.

"Rika," Renamon started.

"He's right. I deserve the best," she interrupted her Digimon. The color from Rika's eyes had turned from purple to a deep gray. "Why should I settle for a rookie Digimon that can't even digivolve? You wouldn't even keep attacking that stupid girl when I asked. IceDevimon will listen."

Renamon froze in her spot. She stared at Rika in disbelief. Renamon had fought so hard to make Rika her tamer. Rika threw her D-Power onto the ground to prove she meant what she said. Renamon and Rika were over. Her old partner was obsolete compared to the champion level Digimon.

A glowing light appeared over Rika's hands. A black D-Power with a red rim fell into her hands. She smirked at the sight of her new D-Power. It was time to see what her new Digimon could do. She shouted her first command, "IceDevimon, destroy the icicles."

"Rika, wait!" Takato called out when he and Guilmon entered the room. Guilmon slipped on the ice and slid into Renamon. Takato attempted to keep his balance as he said, "Don't do this!"

IceDevimon flapped his powerful wings at Rika's command. The wind was strong enough to shake the icicles lose. Renamon grabbed Takato and dodged the falling icicles. Guilmon shot fire at the ones landing near him. With each broken icicle, data flew into IceDevimon. Rika enjoyed the power as much as IceDevimon.

"Do you want me to kill the other two Digimon as well?" IceDevimon asked while he continued to absorb data. Rika shook her head. He snickered, "Hmmmm… Have a bit of kindness in your heart?"

"No, not for them. They're just not worth your time. Guilmon's a baby and Renamon can't even digivolve. If Terriermon was here… Now he'd be worth it. Let's just wait until someone better bio-emerges," Rika admitted. Takato could swear something was different in the way she appeared, but she sounded like herself.

"I'm not a baby!" Guilmon exclaimed. Guilmon dug his feet into the ice to steady himself.

In annoyance, IceDevimon shot an ice beam out of his eyes. Guilmon tried to back away, but the ice overtook him. Takato felt the chill as Guilmon became a frozen popsicle. He yelled out, "No! Guilmon!"

Renamon entered the battle with a diamond storm. IceDevimon froze the diamonds mid-air and let them fall to the ground. One grazed Takato's thigh, causing him to fall to his knees. He held a hand over the open wound to keep it from heavily bleeding.

IceDevimon swatted Renamon into an ice wall before Renamon could attack again. Renamon attempted to get up, but fell back onto the floor. IceDevimon chuckled at the sight and blasted a hole in the ceiling with his frozen claw.

"Hmph, you weren't much of a competitor," Rika laughed at Takato and the frozen Guilmon. IceDevimon flew out of the top of the building. Last thing Takato heard was, "Tell Henry to stay on his toes. We're coming for Terriermon."

The pain in Takato's leg caused tears to form. He turned his attention to Guilmon and the tears poured out. Takato couldn't think of how to free Guilmon. If the heat from Guilmon's own body wasn't enough, he didn't know what he could do. He didn't want it to be the end of his new friendship.

* * *

"So… Henry," Claire started. She was leaning against the frozen building and tapping her foot. "What's your favorite color?"

"Um, orange," Henry responded. He fiddled with his orange jacket a bit. Maybe the color of his jacket didn't make it obvious, but he felt like it was pretty obvious. "Why do you ask?"

"I hate the silence. I didn't know what else to say."

"I like green!" Terriermon threw in his opinion. Henry smiled and rolled his eyes. "Can I go in and fight now? I'm ready to go."

Henry was about to respond, but Claire picked Terriermon off of Henry's shoulders. She patted him on the head and gave him a smile. She told him, "If that's what you want, Henry should let you."

"I like her, Henry. Can she be my tamer? She's cute and willing to let me fight," Terriermon teased. Claire and Henry both blushed, but Henry's blush diminished quickly.

"You don't think I'm cute, Terriermon?" he laughed.

Terriermon's face became serious suddenly. He broke away from Claire's grip and ran into the building. The two friends ran after the tiny Digimon all the way to the top floor. Henry couldn't remember running up so many stairs in his life.

"Takato!" Claire screamed when they entered the digital field. She slid to her friend's aide. She lifted his hand and saw the extent of his injury. The slash wasn't deep, but it was long. It ran from the top of his thigh to the bottom of his knee.

"What happened?!" asked Henry when he saw the frozen Guilmon.

"I knew you should have let me come up here," Terriermon told Henry. Henry shot his Digimon a glance.

"No, it was great that you weren't here. Rika and IceDevimon would have killed you, Terriermon. Rika's got a thing against you now," warned Takato. He hissed when Claire poked at his wound some.

"Rika and _IceDevimon_?" Henry asked for clarification.

"Yeah, Rika traded her partner for…" Takato's voice trailed off. He looked in the direction Renamon was, but she was nowhere to be seen. The Digimon disappeared sometime after the battle. "Renamon was here."

"Do you blame her? I'd leave too if my tamer traded me in," Claire said as she picked up Rika's old D-Power. She gripped it tightly in her hand. "If I had a Digimon, I'd love him or her with all my heart and battle when I had to."

"I don't think I have a partner anymore…" Takato whimpered.

"I have an idea, but I don't know if any of us have the card. I used to, but I traded it away," stated Henry. Terriermon smiled, for he knew which card Henry was speaking up. "Anyone have Expansion?"

Claire reached into her pocket and pulled out her deck of cards. She shuffled through them until she found the card Henry was speaking of. Expansion… She wasn't sure what Henry was thinking, but she handed the card to Takato.

"I'm going to head back to the hideout. I hid away a first aid kit in case we ever needed it. We were in such a hurry earlier, I didn't think about it," she announced. She took one last look at Takato and Henry before running out.

"Digi-Modify! Expansion activate!" Takato yelled as he swiped the card through his D-Power.

Guilmon's red faded into blackness as his body stretched out into a huge ball. The ice cracked and eventually shattered. Guilmon shrunk back to size and let out a long sigh. He gave Takato a lick on the face to comfort his tamer. The Digimon told him, "No more tears, Takatomon. I'm okay."

"Thank you, Henry," Takato thanked his friend as he wrapped his arms around Guilmon's neck. Henry helped Takato onto Guilmon's back. "Do you think you can carry me, boy? I don't want to strain your body."

"You are very light and I am strong." Guilmon smiled a smile of sharp teeth. "I want to show you how strong I can be."

"Guilmon, Takato isn't going to leave you like Rika left Renamon," Terriermon sighed. The bunny shook his head.

"Let's just get out of here. We'll meet Claire half way then go back to the hideout," Henry suggested.

* * *

Claire was close to being half way back to the tower. She was running, but her body couldn't physically handle it. All the stair climbing and running to the hideout wore her out. All she could think about was helping Takato and if Guilmon was alright.

"Claire? Friends of Takato Matsuki and Henry Wong?"

Claire looked over her shoulder. A blond haired man was dressed in a suit. She held in laughter when she saw he was wearing sunglasses at night. When she didn't respond, he smiled. "Your friends are involved in some dangerous business."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she stated and continued walking. The man grabbed her arm and whipped her back around.

"You know perfectly well that I'm talking about the Digimon. You and your friends ran to the digital field tonight. I'm from a very important business and I do not get my facts wrong."

"Ooooh, you're so freaking scary. Do you want me to scream?" she answered sarcastically.

"If you and your friends are caught at the next bio-emergence, there will be consequences," the man warned. He let go of Claire before walking away. The man dropped a card as he disappeared off into the distance. Claire bent over and picked up the card. All that was printed on it was one word.

HYPNOS.


	8. Chapter 8

Taking a shower the next morning burned. Putting ointment over the slash burned. Wrapping it back up didn't burn, but it was almost just as painful. Takato carefully slid a pair of pants up and over the wound. His pants kind of bulged where the wrappings were placed, but no one would notice unless they knew it was there.

He made sure to grab his school supplies that morning. Takato couldn't afford another day basically missed. His science grade tanked so fast that he wasn't sure if he could bring it back up to where he'd like it to be. The tamer said bye to his parents as he walked out the door.

"Need a lift?"

Takato smiled as Claire parked her bike. He mentioned earlier that morning that he was concerned about making it to school. His wound for sure wouldn't let him ride his bike and walking would be a super pain but an improvement. She patted the handle bars of her bike and he sat on top.

"Before we go," she said. She slid something over Takato's head and onto his forehead. He ran his fingers over the object. It was goggles. "Remember way back to when we were kids? Before Kazu moved to town and it was just you, me, and Kenta? You gave me those goggles because it 'suited me better.' Well, look who's the tamer now."

His old tamer goggles. As a kid, the goggles were too big to fit anybody. Years later, the goggles fit Takato perfectly. The goggles weren't exactly like the ones from the shows they watched, but it was pretty close.

He thanked her right before she began pedaling. It probably wasn't easy for her, but if Takato said he'd walk, she'd chew him out. Claire made a turn away from the school. Takato called over his shoulder, "You went the wrong way."

"No, we're going to the park first. I found something that you and Henry might be interested in."

"You told Henry to meet up and not me?"

"I was on my way to pick you up, so it was easier to tell you in person, silly boy," Claire laughed. "You just seemed so happy compared to last night that I just wanted to see that smile a bit longer before dropping news on you. I'm not quite sure if this is good or bad news yet."

Takato nodded and pulled the goggles down over his eyes when she picked up speed. He spotted the park a bit in the distance. It felt like his whole life was beginning to wrap around the park. Even though it was the most secluded area in the city, he wished they could all be more open about… Well, everything lately.

He carefully stood up off of the bike when Claire braked to a stop. Claire didn't even bother to kick out the kickstand and let her bike fall over. She took her backpack off and set it onto the ground.

"So, why are we back at the park an hour before school starts?" Henry yawned. He had more sleep than any of the three, but he appeared sleep deprived.

Claire zipped open her backpack and backed away. A small, white Digimon immediately jumped out and was face to face with Henry. The Digimon squealed in excitement, "Helloooooo! Wanna play?"

Claire grabbed at the tiny Digimon and pulled him close to her. She scratched the top of his head and the Digimon sighed in pleasure. Claire told her friends, "This is Calumon. He was running around my street this morning. Well, flying. Ever since he's seen me, he's been begging to play."

"I can see that," said Henry. He pulled out his D-Power, but couldn't get a reading on Calumon. "That's strange."

"I kind of told him that I know a Digimon that would like to play…" Claire's voice trailed off as she turned to Takato. She forced a smile when she saw the look on his face.

"You told him _what_? We don't even know if Calumon is good or bad!" Takato exclaimed. Claire made a puppy dog face and Takato groaned. "Fine."

"Fine?! It was that easy?" questioned Henry. Henry made a puppy dog face and asked, "Takato, can copy your school work?"

"Very funny," mumbled Takato. He crossed his arms as he thought. "Calumon is small and really cute. I think he'll be fine."

"Terriermon is also small and cute," Claire threw out there. She didn't believe Calumon would do damage, but she kept an open mind. "And we all know how powerful he can be."

"I may be small and cute, but I'm brave! I want to play with your Digimon," laughed Calumon as he jumped out of Claire's hands and onto Takato's head. Takato reached for Calumon, but the Digimon flew up to where Takato couldn't reach. He sang, "Take me now. Take me now. Take me now!"

"He's already becoming annoying," Henry said under his breath.

"Okay, I'll take you," Takato told Calumon. Calumon sat back onto his head as Takato hobbled off to the hideout. He told Claire and Henry that it was okay to stay behind.

"I like Claire. She's really nice and so are you. Henry's funny," Calumon rambled. Takato tried to tune out the Digimon, but something Calumon said caught his attention. "Do you know Rika? She's silly. Whenever she wasn't battling, she was so nice to Renamon. The moment she'd battle it's like all those feelings disappear."

"Yeah, we know Rika. She went crazy last night…" Takato started. He filled Calumon in on the whole story and the Digimon's ears retracted.

"Are you sure that was Rika? It doesn't sound like her." Calumon's voice was sad.

Takato went over his memory of last night in his mind. Rika did appear different in the way she appeared. Something about her eyes was different. And she gave up Renamon so easily. His impression of Rika was that she would push Renamon to be the best, not to give her up like that.

Also, he recalled Claire and Rika's D-Power. The screen seemed to still work as if it still belonged to Rika. The confusing part was that Rika received a different D-Power. She couldn't be a tamer to two Digimon at once, so if her original D-Power was still working…

"Calumon, I'm not sure what's going on, but I think you're on to something,"  
Takato told the little Digimon.

He opened the gate to the hideout and was greeted by Guilmon. Takato introduced the two Digimon and left quickly, still lost in thought. Maybe the others would have an idea of what to think. He filled his friends in, but there was no time to discuss. School would start soon.

* * *

Takato's teacher was pleased that an assignment was finally turned in. It wasn't much, but it was better than taking another zero. He sighed happily as he sat back down at his desk. "Finally, something went right."

"Hey, Takato, can you tell me what this card does?" Jeri asked him after he sat down. She placed a Digimon card on his desk. "I like the goggles, by the way."

He forgot that he even had those on. Hats weren't allowed in school, but no teacher had stopped him yet to tell him he couldn't wear the goggles. The goggles must be a loop hole in the hats rule.

Takato examined the Digimon card. He raised his eyebrows, impressed that she would have that card. "Hyper wing. It adds wings to your Digimon. Cool. I have it, too, but I haven't used it yet. I've been meaning to though."

"I have a whole deck. I'm trying to learn how to play."

He didn't know what he was more shocked at. The fact that Jeri bought a whole deck of Digimon cards or that he was the first person she went to about it. He asked, "How about we meet up after school? I can teach you."

A spitball hit the back of Takato's head. He yanked it out of his hair when he turned his head. Kenta high-fived Kazu and they both pointed and laughed. Takato shook his head. Their friendship had deteriorated so quickly in the past few days.

"They're such bullies. I'm sorry they're turning on you," Jeri apologized. She tried to keep talking, but quit when Takato never responded.

Takato never heard her apology. He just kept his mind on science until the class ended.

* * *

"Hey, Guil—"

"Takatomon, Calumon and I dug a hole!" exclaimed Guilmon when Takato came to the hideout. The red dinosaur pointed to the giant hole extending into the ground.

"Well…" he started with a laugh. "I'd rather you do that than run around the city all day. Where's Calumon?"

"When we were done, he got bored and left. That was five minutes ago." Guilmon opened his mouth to say more, but no words came out. He pointed over Takato's shoulder.

"He's… He's…" Jeri started. Her deck of cards fell to the ground.

"Crap, I forgot about Jeri," he whispered to Guilmon. He forgot he was going to teach Jeri how to play. She must have followed him to Guilmon.

"He's so cute!" Jeri finally got her words out. She gave Guilmon a tight hug.

"He's not real! It looks like a larping costume!" Kazu exclaimed as he entered the hideout. Great, someone else followed.

"Yeah, I bet that's Henry Wong in a costume," snickered Kenta. The two boys pushed Jeri off of Guilmon. They pulled on his face to test the costume.

"Yep, just a costume. Time to go," Takato quickly said and stepped in front of his two friends. He attempted to push everyone out, but was interrupted.

"Uh, Takato," said Henry, who was standing in the doorway with Terriermon on his shoulder. Terriermon waved at the three new people. "What's going on?"

"Momentai, Henry. Things don't _always _go wrong," Terriermon told his tamer. He jumped off of his tamer's head and stood in front of the three. "Hello, I'm Terriermon."

That was the final straw for Kazu and Kenta. Kenta screamed and practically ran over Terriermon on the way out. Kazu had a look of horror before he too ran out. Terriermon scratched his head as the two ran away. All he did was say hi.

"You're so cute, too!" Jeri shouted and scooped up Terriermon. She squeezed him so hard that his face began to turn red.

"Now's the time to panic, Henry. I… Can't… Breathe!"

Henry laughed at his Digimon and took him away from Jeri. He placed Terriermon back on his head. Terriermon breathed heavily until his heart rate slowed back down.

"I'll be back tomorrow! I just got a message from my step mom asking me to come home. I'll bring the Digimon gifts," Jeri announced as she read a text message. She gave Guilmon and Terriermon both a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

"Well, that could have been worse," Takato said positively. Henry nodded in agreement.

"Jeri's nice," added Guilmon. He scratched his head. "The other two are funny."

"That's a way to put it," Henry responded. His expression changed when he brought up why he was there. "I just wanted to stop by and say that we're staying home tonight unless something strange goes down. I think you should, too, Takato. I don't want our parents catching on, you know?"

"Yeah, I gotcha," Takato answered sadly. Tonight would be Guilmon's first night alone.

Henry left soon after that discussion. Guilmon begged Takato to stay, but he knew that Henry was right. They all had to stay home tonight unless they were needed. Takato hugged his Digimon goodbye before he went home.

* * *

It was eleven at night and Claire couldn't sleep. It felt weird not having a boring night after everything that had happened the night before. It was strange.

"Claire?"

Claire sat up in her bed. Renamon stood in the corner of her room. Before Claire could say anything or reach for her phone, Renamon held up a paw as if to say wait. She spoke, "I just wanted to apologize for hitting you the other day. It wasn't right. That was all I came for."

Renamon began to fade away into the shadows. Claire called out, "Wait!"

Renamon waited. Claire hopped out of bed and hurried to her desk. Rika's D-Power was there. She had noticed that the D-Power was still working despite Rika having a new partner. A string was tied around it like a necklace. Claire picked up the D-Power and put it around Renamon's neck.

"Why? I don't want this," Renamon said, hinting at anger in her voice.

"It still works. I don't think Rika has given up on you. I think IceDevimon did something to her," Claire admitted. Renamon gripped at the D-Power and stared at the screen. "If you want to stay the night here, you can. That way you're not stuck in the cold."

"Thank you," Renamon said and sat against the wall.

Claire climbed back into bed and fell asleep. The morning would be a better time to speak.


	9. Chapter 9

Claire woke up to two text messages. One was from Takato, but that was a daily occurrence. He always started her morning off with a message that read "Goodmorning, have a great day :-)." The other was from Henry. It read "Morning. Boring night for you?" The blue haired boy was checking up on everybody.

She smiled and bit her bottom lip as she responded. The morning was already starting off well for her. She received a full night's rest and nothing crazy happened. She lied back in bed and let out a long sigh.

"Claire, why are you smiling that way?" asked Renamon suddenly.

Claire almost wet herself when Renamon spoke. She had completely forgotten that the Digimon had stayed the night. The girl sat back up and rested back on the headboard. After clearing her throat, she told her, "I'm really happy. I'm just really lucky to have great friends in my life."

Renamon stared at the screen of the D-Power around her neck. The Digimon admitted, "Rika hardly ever smiled. It's strange to see you smile so easily."

The blonde wasn't sure how to respond to that. She pushed her hair out of her face to see Renamon better. "We'll get Rika back. Even if it's the death of me, I'll make sure you and Rika are back together."

"Don't make such grave promises." Renamon actually seemed to be frowning.

"It was a figure of speech," Claire sighed. She checked the time on her phone. "I have to get ready for school. If you want, come see all my friends and me after school. We'll be near the place I first saw you."

Renamon disappeared without a response. Claire shook her head, but hoped Renamon would stop by. She couldn't image the emotional roller coaster that Digimon was on. They hadn't even confirmed yet if Rika was under some sort of spell or not yet. A chill ran through her at the though. _What if it was really Rika's choice?_

* * *

Takato felt better about walking the next morning. He had taken it easy the day beforehand and it paid off. Walking still wasn't fun, but it didn't hurt as much. On his way to the park, he received texts from both Claire and Henry. Texting and walking wasn't his forte, so he left them unread.

He spied Kazu and Kenta, who were packing up their cards, off in the distance. Takato waved and called out to the pair, but Kazu ignored him. Kenta waved, but quickly put his hand down when Kazu gave him a glare.

"Come on, Kazu, let's stop," sighed Kenta. He pushed his glasses up his nose farther.

"If he's going to ditch us, I don't think we should even acknowledge him. We're pretty much dead to him," huffed Kazu. He slammed his card container into the hiding place.

"Hey, guys," Takato greeted, sadness hinting in his voice. He scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward. Takato wasn't sure where to begin. "Um… I'm sorry. I should have told my closest friends about Guilmon the moment I found out. Life has sent me a huge curve ball and I don't want to lose you two in the process."

The duo shared a look. The silence was killing Takato, for he just wanted an answer. All he wanted was his friends to accept the apology. Kenta finally turned to Takato and said, "Okay. I've missed hanging out with you and Claire."

"What?! You're ditching me for chumley?" demanded Kazu. His anger was felt by the two others. "Whatever. Have fun with your imagination. I'll be living my life while you two stay in a world of make believe."

"You're a mean friend, Kazu," Kenta stated. The nervous boy's face turned pale at his own words. Takato was shocked that Kenta said his own true thoughts.

Kazu rolled his eyes and stormed off. Kenta took a step after his friend, but stopped himself. It was better to let Kazu blow off steam. He just hoped that he hadn't completely lost Kazu in the process. Kazu was hard headed, so hopefully he would come back around.

"So, Guilmon?" Kenta started as he began to walk toward school. Takato tried his best to keep pace with Kenta. "You created him, right? I saw where you flawlessly drew him on your desk the other day."

Boy, Takato had a lot to fill Kenta in on.

* * *

Everyone had met up at the hide out after school. Jeri and Kenta had even showed up. Jeri brought cupcakes that looked like Guilmon for everyone to eat. Guilmon was the most excited to see the cupcakes.

"Guilmon cupcakes?!" he exclaimed. Guilmon knocked the box out of Jeri's hands and ate each cupcake. Satisfied with himself, he rolled onto his back and placed his hands on his stomach. "That was absolutely delicious."

"I wouldn't know," Terriermon huffed.

"I'll just make extra for tomorrow," laughed Jeri. She wiped icing off of Guilmon's face with a napkin. Jeri gasped and backed away when Guilmon suddenly sat up, growling.

"Digimon," growled Guilmon. He attempted to bend into an attack stance, but his swollen belly wouldn't let him. He groaned, "Too much Guilmon cupcakes…"

"Is it IceDevimon and Rika?" Claire questioned.

"Don't think so. This Digimon isn't as strong," Terriermon sensed.

"We need to go. If it's as bad as IceDevimon, we need to be there," stated Henry. He nodded at Takato. Guilmon wasn't fighting alone this time.

Terriermon led the charge with a bloated Guilmon not too far behind. All of the teens followed suit, but Takato was going to send Jeri and Kenta away if the Digimon was bad. They got lucky with Calumon, who had still yet to be seen again, but they might not be as lucky this time.

Takato pulled out his D-Power when they arrived on scene. Mist was everywhere, but Takato could vaguely see a silhouette of a Digimon. The Digivice produced an image with information about the mysterious Digimon. He read aloud, "Devidramon, champion level. Yikes, we need to watch out for his red eyes attack. He could paralyze our Digimon."

"Pyro sphere!" Guilmon shouted before Takato could even give a command.

The fireball hit Devidramon in the face, but didn't even faze him. He backhanded Guilmon into the nearest building. The Digimon let out a chuckle before taking flight with a flap of his wings.

"Digi-Modify!" Takato shouted as he scanned a card through his D-Power. "Hyper wing activate!"

Terriermon hopped onto Guilmon's head when the white wings formed on his back. Guilmon flew up into the air, almost as high as Devidramon. He grabbed Terriermon and threw him with all his might. Terriermon landed on the spaced between Devidramon's eyes. The Digimon laughed as he stabbed his hands and feet as far into Devidramon's eyes as he could. The champion Digimon let out a piercing howl and flung Terriermon off. The pairs of eyes disappeared into data.

Terriermon managed to land on his feet, but Devidramon's landing unbalanced him. Devidramon's eyelids shut over the empty eye sockets. He was trying to locate Terriermon and Guilmon through his hearing. Devidramon heard Guilmon flap his newfound wings. The champion Digimon called out, "Crimson claw!"

Devidramon swatted Guilmon out of the sky. Guilmon crashed hard into the ground. Takato ran to his aide. The Digimon took a hard fall into the street. Their attacker followed the sound of Takato's running. Devidramon raised his arm up for another crimson claw attack.

Takato spotted Calumon flying behind Devidramon. When the tiny Digimon recognized them, he squealed in fear and shot red light out of his forehead.

_Digivolution_.

Growlmon stood in place of where Guilmon had crashed. Takato dodged Growlmon's stomp when the Digimon took a step forward. Growlmon caught Devidramon's hand and forced it backwards. The sound was sickening to hear. Devidramon's arm hung limp.

"Pyro blaster!" Growlmon shouted as he spat out an even bigger fireball than the one beforehand.

The dragon slammed into the building behind him. A giant mark was burned into his chest. Devidramon forced himself up with his good arm.

"He's so strong," Claire said, referring to Growlmon.

Devidramon heard Claire's voice and snapped his head in her direction. He snapped his giant jaws at her, barely missing. Renamon appeared and kicked Devidramon's head away from Claire. She steadied Claire, who was shaking at her near death experience.

"You saved me," Claire gasped. Renamon was still steadying her.

"You were nice to me when I didn't deserve it," answered Renamon. She was only returning the favor. Her act of kindness was much greater and Claire didn't know how she could ever return it.

Growlmon picked up Devidramon and gave him one last slam into the ground. Devidramon could no longer hold on to his physical form and dispersed into data. Growlmon began to absorb his data.

"Growlmon, stop!" Takato yelled at his partner. Growlmon let the data float away at Takato's command. "I think absorbing his data will permanently kill him. Let him go back to the Digital World."

Growlmon let out a low growl. Takato feared his Digimon didn't recognize him. Growlmon lowered his face right in front of his tamer. His eyebrows ran together to form an angry face.

"Don't let him attack, Takato!" Jeri gasped and placed a hand over her mouth.

Terriermon prepared himself to jump, but Henry held up his hand. He told his partner, "Wait."

Growlmon wiped away a tear Takato didn't even know was rolling down his cheek. Tears formed in Growlmon's own eyes when he said, "Don't be scared… I don't want you to cry, Takatomon."

Takato wrapped Growlmon's leg in a tight. Growlmon was still the goober Takato knew and loved. He slowly de-digivolved to Guilmon. When he was back to his rookie form, Guilmon hugged his friend.

During the touching scene between Guilmon and Takato, Terriermon kept his eyes on the sky. Something didn't feel quite right. His eyes followed the direction Devidramon's floated away. It was miles and miles away, but Terriermon could still barely make out the particles. IceDevimon flew into the air and intercepted the data. Terriermon watched the champion Digimon absorb the data.

"Time to go!" Terriermon shouted and tugged on Henry's hand. Henry snatched his hand away, but Terriermon gripped again. "IceDevimon is not too far away and he just absorbed Devidramon's data. He's going to eventually see this digital field!"

"If he's out on the prowl, that means Rika is with him," said Renamon.

"We want to confront Rika, but not while she's with IceDevimon. He'd never let us get close," Claire threw out there. It was hard, but Claire was right. It wasn't the time to talk sense into Rika. Renamon didn't make eye contact, but nodded.

"I can't take Guilmon back to the hideout. They might go looking for him!" Takato exclaimed.

"The tunnels. There are underground tunnels!" Kenta told Takato. He waved his arm for everyone to follow.

Kenta led the group ways away from what was left of the digital field. They all stayed in the tunnel for what felt like hours in silence. Kenta and Jeri eventually left to go home, leaving the three friends alone. Claire had fall asleep next to Henry during the extended silence.

"Renamon," Henry started. The fox nodded acknowledgement. "Where does Rika go to school? Maybe we can try catching her afterwards."

"She wasn't at school today. I waited to see if she'd come out and never did. My guess is that she won't show up tomorrow either." Renamon's voice was grim.

"Okay, what if we went to her house?" Takato threw an idea into their brainstorming.

"I could show you that tomorrow. She doesn't live that far away."

"I could skip school tomorrow to see if Rika will be home. I can afford to miss a day. I have A's in all my classes," Henry stated. Takato let jealousy slip in for a second. He was nowhere near all A's. "If she's not, we can try to find out where she's gone to."

"Thank you. You all are too kind to us after the way we treated you," spoke Renamon. She shook her head at the memories.

"Momentai. We all have done things we're not proud of," Terriermon attempted to cheer up the fox. He smiled from ear to long ear.

Claire's head slid onto Henry's shoulder. He blushed and placed a hand on her head to push her off. Takato quickly said, "Don't. You'll wake her and she'll get mad."

"But," Henry started. His eyes darted from Takato back to the sleeping Claire. "She's laying on _me_. What's there to get mad at?"

Takato shrugged. "I don't know. She's done it to me before. It's just Claire logic."

"Hmph," Henry mumbled. He crossed his arms in frustration. If he wanted to sleep, he couldn't move out of his current position. "Girls don't make sense. It's like we breath and we get told we're wrong."

Soon, Takato was left the only one awake. Even the Digimon had fallen asleep before him. He couldn't stop thinking about Rika. What if he had arrived to IceDevimon's lair before her? Was he willing to take anyone or did he specifically want Rika?

His mind then drifted to how violent she had been to them. She did nothing to deserve them risking their lives to save her. She wouldn't do it for them. They were just pathetic tamers to her. Then he imagined himself in Rika's position and shivered. It didn't matter how she acted beforehand. It must be scary to not be in control of herself.

Takato found himself whispering aloud, "We'll free you. He won't win."


	10. Chapter 10

"Yamaki, it's not ready to be tested," Riley told her boss. He had told her to be ready to start Juggernaut. "It won't destroy them like you would like. At best, it _might _send Digimon back to the Digital World."

"I'd rather that for now instead of allowing more and more to run rampant. Once they're all gone, we'll worry about upgrading Juggernaut," Yamaki responded. He flicked his lighter open and shut.

He warned that Claire girl about the consequences of interfering. Yamaki said the next time they entered a digital field he would do something about it. Digimon shouldn't be bio-emerging into the real world, let alone have children as partners. It was time to be rid of them forever. Unfortunately for him, Juggernaut wasn't ready according to Riley. It would only be able to send the Digimon back to the Digital World. Yamaki found himself mumbling aloud.

"Hug your Digimon goodbye, kids. It might be the last time you see them before I figure out how to permanently destroy them."

* * *

Claire hesitated when they stepped onto Rika's porch. She skipped school so Henry wouldn't go alone, but she had a gut feeling that it wasn't a good idea anymore. If Rika was home, would she summon IceDevimon? The blonde was carrying Terriermon, but the little bunny wouldn't be a match for the Digimon on his own. Everyone learned last night that Guilmon and Terriermon are strong together.

"Hey, turn that frown upside down. I don't like frowny Claire," joked Terriermon. She gave him a smile, but it wasn't good enough. "No, a real one. Your eye looks better than days ago. That's a reason to smile!"

"Terriermon," Henry cut him off. Terriermon shrugged at his tamer. "That classifies as rude."

"No, he's fine. Terriermon's right. It is almost healed." Claire gave Terriermon a true smile. Terriermon pointed to Claire and had the same smile on his face. She could imagine what Terriermon was going to say, so she said it first, "Momentai, Henry."

"Not you, too," he chuckled. Henry glanced over Rika's door before he let out a sigh. He volunteered himself for this, but that didn't mean he wanted to do it. So much could go wrong and he didn't have Takato as back up. _Momentai_, he heard Claire and Terriermon's voice say together in his head. Finding a sense of calm, he knocked on the door.

"Here we go," sighed Claire.

"I'm ready to brawl if I have to!" Terriermon let Henry know. He put his fists in the air to show his point.

Claire patted the bunny on the head and giggled. She reminded him, "Right now, you're a stuffed animal."

Terriermon allowed his body to be limp just in time for someone to answer the door. A woman in her early forties answered the door. Her hair was messy and pulled back the best it could. Makeup was smudged and ran together all over her face. Her voice cracked when she asked, "What do you two want? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Is Rika home? We haven't seen her in a few days." Henry's words almost sounded rehearsed. In fact, it was rehearsed. He had said the words over and over in his head before the woman had answered the door. What he said next, on the other hand, was not rehearsed. "Are you alright, ma'am? Did we come at a bad time?"

"Rika has been gone for days. We filed a missing report last night," the woman told the teens. Her makeup ran together even more as tears ran down her face. The woman must be Rika's mom. "It must be my fault. I pressured her so much to be like me…"

"No, it's not your fault. Rika will come back home," Henry promised. _We'll bring her home._ He could only hope.

"Do you know where she might possibly be?" asked Claire. She hoped that she hadn't pushed the grieving mother too far.

"Someone reported this morning that they saw her walking around that condemned tower in town. I spent hours walking around there at around five. She wasn't there…"

Henry checked the time on his watch. It was ten in the morning. Rika could be anywhere now. He sighed, for they weren't any closer to finding Rika than they were before coming to her house. Henry apologized to Rika's mother for wasting her time and walked down the steps of the porch.

"Henry, we have to go back to where we first saw IceDevimon. I know that must be the building Rika's mom was talking about," Claire called after him. She ran to catch up with him. Terriermon moved to the top of Claire's head when she started running. Out of breath, she huffed, "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes?" he responded with confusion in his voice. He scratched his head when Claire crossed her arms in annoyance. Henry stopped walking and asked, "What am I suppose to say? I didn't know I needed to say something for us to head toward that building. Wouldn't we head straight there or do we need to have a thirty minute discuss first?"

"I don't know. Just a slight bit of acknowledgement would be helpful. I can't tell what you're thinking when you're silent," she sighed. That was something she hated about him. He was so quiet and she was the exact opposite.

"Kiss and make up already. It's not like we have somewhere we should be," Terriermon said sarcastically. He chose that specific wording because his words would send Henry into a blushing tailspin. The Digimon had never seen his tamer in that state before and wanted to tease him any chance he had.

The bunny was disappointed that Henry only cleared his throat at Terriermon's words. Henry quickly began to walk again in the direction he thought was correct. Terriermon called out, "Wrong way."

"I know where I'm going," Henry turned and said over his shoulder. Terriermon smirked at Henry's face. _Now _he was embarrassed. The tamer's face became even redder when he spied Terriermon's glance. "Shut up, Princess Pretty Pants."

"Mmmmmm," Terriermon tried to hold back his laughter. Terriermon had more to tease Henry with, but he tortured his tamer enough for one day.

"You never said whether or not we were going to IceDevimon's building," Claire called after him and caught up with Henry.

* * *

Her eyes suddenly fluttered open. She couldn't remember how she ended up where she was, but she must have walked. Running was also a possibility, for her legs felt practically numb. Attempting to sit up, she slipped onto her back. When did her body become so heavy? Just that little of movement left her exhausted. She wanted to go back to sleep, but her eyes wouldn't shut.

"What happened?" she called out, hoping someone would hear. It felt like she called out, anyways. She heard her own voice, but her mouth never opened. Her lips felt like it was stuck together.

Her body began to move on its own. She felt herself moving, but she wasn't the one causing the motions. It was almost like an out of body experience, but she was still inside. The body reached into her pocket and pulled out a D-Power. When did she receive this? In fact, she wasn't really sure of a lot of things.

"My queen has awoken," a voice said.

_That voice,_ she thought. That was familiar. Her head turned the opposite direction that she wanted to look, but it chose the correct direction. The ice devil Digimon floated next to her. The feeling to run crept in, but she couldn't move. She only moved when whatever controlled her allowed her to move.

"IceDevimon," she heard her voice say. Her mouth even moved.

"A challenger came by, but he was no issue." IceDevimon held up a Digimon by its foot.

"Impmon, rookie level. Look how tiny the guy is," the queen laughed. Inside, she was scared of that sound. The voice was hers, but it wasn't her speaking. She wanted to scream for Impmon to be freed, but all that could be heard was the queen's voice. "He's not even worth the time."

"Are you calling me useless?! I heard there was a Digimon queen and thought I might check her out. You're quite the bitch!" the small Digimon yelled. His finger formed a fireball and he threw it. "Bada boom!"

IceDevimon swatted the fireball down with his free hand. The purple Impmon gasped and growled at how easily his attack was deflected. Before the queen could command her Digimon, IceDevimon threw Impmon through the hole in the ceiling. That challenger _should _be out of their hair now.

The queen's eyes followed Impmon as he flew out of the tower. She noticed something askew. The sky appeared to be on fire. Off into the distance, she spotted a Digimon float up into what appeared to be a funnel in the sky. The queen asked, "Is that dangerous?"

"Not to us."

The queen thought, _not yet_. The second voice in her head made her jump in surprise, but her physical body didn't jump. How did she end up this way? She couldn't remember anything.

"Rika!" a boy called out as he entered the ice lair.

_Rika_, she thought to herself. She recognized the name. Was that her name? For a moment, she felt in control. Rika turned her head toward the yelling boy. She recognized him, too. Rika recognized him, the girl he was with, and the Digimon the girl was carrying. A name came to mind, but the queen was back in control. Rika tried to scream, "Henry! Help me!"

The blue haired boy never heard her cry. Terriermon jumped out of Claire's hands and ran at IceDevimon. Before Terriermon could even attack, the queen pulled out a card and swiped it through the D-Power. The queen shouted, "Digi-modify! Power activate!"

The D-Power didn't even glow. Rika wanted to swipe the card again to see if she just didn't see it, but the queen was satisfied with one swipe.

IceDevimon picked up Terriermon by the ears and slammed him into the icy floor. Terriermon forced himself off of the ground. The bunny spun in a fast circle into a whirlwind and smacked into IceDevimon. The champion Digimon winced, but wasn't really damaged.

"It's no use! We should have waited for Takato!" Claire exclaimed. Rika and IceDevimon were over powering Terriermon.

"Now's not the time for your sass. If we didn't check now, they might not have been here later," Henry spat at her. He didn't mean to be rude, but wishing wasn't what they needed. Henry pulled out a Digimon card. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"

_Digivolution._

Before IceDevimon could attack again, Gargomon shot a laser. IceDevimon was sent spiraling backwards and almost ran into the queen. The queen jumped out of the way just in time. The queen simply said, "Don't disappoint me."

"Gargomon, be careful," Rika whispered. Her voice echoed inside her, but was again heard by no one.

The two champion level Digimon suddenly turned toward the hole in the ceiling. Gargomon said, "Something big is coming."

"That funnel. Someone very strong is breaking through," IceDevimon warned the queen.

"Forget the rabbit then," the queen started. IceDevimon picked her up without her even commanding it. "We will defeat the stronger one."

Claire jumped and reached for Rika before the ice devil took flight. For a split moment, Rika was in control. She stretched for Claire, but they only brushed finger tips. Rika's voice was finally heard, "Claire!"

"Rika!" the two friends called out, but the queen was back. She pointed to the tunnel in the sky. IceDevimon took flight and left the lair.

"Shit!" Henry shouted and kicked the ice wall. The anger inside boiled over and spilled. "I can't do this! I can't save her!"

Claire snatched his hands and gripped hard. He tried to pull away, but she stayed firm. She stared him down until he finally would look at her. When he was calm enough, he looked into her eyes. She said, "Henry Wong, you are not alone. Don't act like you are."

"I'm just as much in fault as you are. The sun is still going to rise tomorrow if we mess up," Gargomon threw in. Henry sighed and nodded.

"This isn't over. We know where they went." Claire pointed toward the funnel in the sky. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "If you're still up for it, I'm ready to see you go kick some ass."

Henry let out a single chuckled and nodded. Their battle wasn't over yet.


	11. Chapter 11

Takato chewed on the end of his pencil. He might as well have skipped school. There was no way he could focus when his best friends were on a dangerous mission without him. His only solace was to doodle every class, but it wasn't working this time around. The goggles weighed heavy on his head, as if the tamer inside was telling him to get out there with his friends.

"Hey, Takato. You okay, man?" Kenta whispered from behind him. He and Takato had been friends since they were five. Kenta had never seen his friend under such stress and anxiety.

Takato accidentally snapped the pencil from gripping it so tightly. He slowly shook his head in response with Kenta. The feelings of fear and anger spiked to an all time high. Sweat dripped down the tamer's back. What was wrong with him?

"I need… I need to get out of here," he said in between breaths.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the sky catch fire. Or at least, that what it appeared to be. Through the window, Takato watched a funnel form into the sky. His fear and anxiety managed to double what it had just been. Something was going down and he wasn't there. Takato wasn't there to make sure his friends were okay.

"May I be excused?" he asked loud enough for the teacher to hear. The call to enter the battlefield became strong the longer he sat in class.

"No. We have a no bathroom policy in the class," the teacher retorted and continued to write on the board.

Takato rocked back in forth in his chair. The funnel had become bigger. He couldn't quite see what was flying through the air, but objects were being sucked into the funnel. His hands were fisting his hair and he was practically pulling out his hair. Henry and Claire were somewhere out there. Takato couldn't live with himself if something happened to them because he wasn't there.

"I _have _to go!" Takato tried again.

"There is only thirty minutes le—"

Takato didn't wait to hear the rest of the answer. He stood up so fast and violently that he knocked over his desk. At that point, he didn't care about his actions. The tamer ran out of the classroom and apologized on his way out.

He pulled his phone out to call Claire when he was off of school grounds. The phone didn't even ring once before sending him straight to voicemail. Takato tried Henry next, but no answer on his end either. The tamer was now running blind.

"Play!" a voice called out. Calumon landed on Takato's head. Takato practically fell over in surprise, but kept his balance. The tiny Digimon laughed, "I've been waiting for you all day to get out of class!"

"I shouldn't have been in class. Now I can't find my friends."

"Are you looking for Henry? I saw him run into that condemned building with Claire."

_Thank you, Calumon_, Takato thought. He took off in the direction of IceDevimon's lair. Calumon gripped onto Takato's goggles and let his body flow with the wind as Takato ran. Takato attempted to tune the Digimon out, but Calumon's laughter was so piercing.

"Aren't you going to go find Guilmon? He probably wants to play, too," Calumon laughed.

An image of Growlmon popped in Takato's mind. The way the Digimon was ruthless absolutely scared him. He remembered Growlmon snapping Devidramon's arm like it was a toothpick. A chill ran down his spin at the thought of his partner. _I'll go find him… But not right now…_ Not while he was afraid.

Takato skidded to a halt. A man was standing on the middle of the sidewalk and had no intents of moving. Without a word, the man snatched Calumon off of Takato's head. He threw the Digimon to the side like Calumon was trash. Before Takato could speak, the mystery man wrapped his hand around Takato's neck and lifted him off of the ground.

"You," Yamaki stated. Takato couldn't see passed the man's sunglass, but he could imagine the angry look. "You and your damn friends made me launch this program. Now look. _Look!_"

Takato's eyes followed where the man pointed. A blue beam was shooting out of the funnel and onto the top of two towers. How that had to do with him, Takato didn't know. The man was crazy. Takato was beginning to run out of air, but the man held him too far away for him to do anything in retaliation.

"Something is breaking through Juggernaut. You kids are drawing in powerful Digimon! You stupid, ignora—"

Claire kicked the man in the crotch. Takato fell to the ground and held his throat. He gasped for air and coughed. The man was bent over, but was not fallen like Takato. Yamaki stood up and raised an arm back as if he were going to hit Claire.

Gargomon aimed his guns at Yamaki. The man raised his arms in the air and backed away. Gargomon growled, "You will not lay a hand on her. You will not harm Takato anymore than you have. You will back away and leave us alone."

"You all will see one day. Digimon will be the death of you. Don't say I didn't warn you." With that, Yamaki was gone.

Claire helped Takato to his feet. The tamer was still gasping for air and leaned on Claire for support. He was as happy as he could be for someone that was just assaulted. His friend was alright.

"We have to keep moving. A Digimon is coming through that funnel!" Henry exclaimed and pointed a few blocks down the road. At some point, Henry had picked up Calumon. The tiny Digimon clung onto Henry's head like Terriermon normally would.

"I can walk," Takato told Claire. Claire at first wouldn't let him go, but hesitantly did when Takato gave her a cheesy smile. He was lucky she cared so much for him. Also, the fear he had for his partner had disappeared. "Thank you, though. I'm going to find Guilmon."

"That man was not very nice. If he didn't want to play, he could have just said so. He didn't have to throw me and threaten Takato," Calumon rambled as Claire and Henry ran to the twin buildings in the city. During the run, he switched from Henry to Claire. The little guy wanted nothing more than to play with the tamers, but never would get the chance. Something always came up. "It's not fair. Can't we just have fun?"

The group halted at the towers. Gargomon bent over and allowed Henry to climb onto his back. Claire grabbed Henry's arm and yelled, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Heading to battle with Gargomon. I can't just let him fight alone," Henry told her. He pulled his arm away. At first, Henry thought Claire was just asking for clarification. Her face told a different story. She was scared for him. Henry blushed when he put himself in her shoes. He'd be going crazy at the thought of his friend battling, too. The tamer said, "I'll come back. I promise."

"Damn you, Henry! Wait for Takato and Guilmon!" she shouted at him. Henry whispered a command into Gargomon's ear instead of listening to her. She stepped in front of Gargomon. "Don't go alone. You don't have to do this alone! If you would just one second!"

"Momentai," Gargomon laughed. The Digimon pointed his guns at the ground. The spray of bullets lifted Digimon and tamer into the sky, higher than Claire could see.

* * *

"If you do not get up," the queen threatened. The queen wasn't sure how to finish the threat. _I hope he doesn't get up_, Rika thought at the sight before her.

IceDevimon was lying on the roof and wasn't moving. His data was still intact, so he was perfectly fine. The queen huffed and stomped her foot. The champion Digimon pushed himself into a sitting position. He told the queen, "He is too strong to take on alone."

The tiger Digimon circled around the ice devil as if it were a shark. A drone growl was constantly heard with each step the Digimon took. His wings were drawn in for swifter movement. The Digimon almost sounded as if it was laughing at the queen.

Gargomon landed on the roof with a heavy thud. Henry slid off of Gargomon and stepped away from his Digimon. Henry noticed that IceDevimon was down. If IceDevimon was having issues, Gargomon would too. He tried not to let that affect his confidence in Gargomon and pulled out a card. "Digi-Modify! Power activate!"

Gargomon began shooting at the tiger. The bullets bounced off of the tiger. The tiger murmured and circled around Gargomon. The champion level Digimon yelled at his tamer, "Henry, I think this one's an ultimate level."

"Mihiramon," Henry read aloud off of his D-Power. He took his eyes off of the battle when he should have been paying attention. "Ultimate level. His samurai ti—"

Gargomon's screams was all that could be heard. Mihiramon's jaws snapped over Gargomon's left gun and clamped down. The gun cracked. Gargomon struggled and tugged in an attempt to free himself. Mihiramon bite down harder, shattering Gargomon's gun and turning into data. Gargomon continued to scream as a part of him floated off into the air.

Henry felt the pain in this left arm. Every single bone shattered as Gargomon was attacked. He screamed almost as loud as his Digimon. His arm was okay, but every bit of pain was shared between tamer and Digimon. He felt his arm become numb as the data floated off.

"IceDevimon," the queen commanded. Rika heard the queen's thoughts and gasped. She tried to stop the queen from speaking, but it was no use. "Absorb the data and kill the rabbit. With the extra data, you can take down Mihiramon."

IceDevimon sucked in what little bit of data was floating around. The champion Digimon had the strength to stand up and swat at Gargomon. The rabbit jumped away, barely dodging the devil's attack. He shouted at IceDevimon, "We can fight Mihiramon together!"

Henry stomped on IceDevimon's toe. He wasn't sure what exactly that was supposed to do, but it took the devil's attention off of the damaged Gargomon. IceDevimon gripped Henry and lifted him in the air. His grip was crushing the boy, but IceDevimon did not care. "Why do you show such compassion for such a weak creature? A tamer such as you deserves a better Digimon."

"Better… I deserve… Better," Henry responded, his voice weak and confused. His eyes slowly looked from Gargomon to IceDevimon.

Rika felt the queen's hold loosen. She turned to aid Henry, but saw the look on the tamer's face. The confusion on Henry's face was the same she had felt when the devil started talking to her. Henry fought hard for Rika when she didn't deserve such kindness from him. She groaned because she knew what she had to do. In the moment, she made a decision she had a feeling she'd regret later. Rika yelled to Henry's Digimon, "Gargomon, if you don't do something, that shithead is going to take over Henry!"

Gargomon shot a laser out of his only gun. The laser hit IceDevimon between the eyes and sent him falling backwards. Henry fell out of IceDevimon's hands and Gargomon was there to catch him. It was a rough catch, but Gargomon managed to do it with one arm. The boy was dazed, but able to speak. He told his Digimon, "Gargomon, I'm sorry!"

"That was IceDevimon speaking, not you," Gargomon told his tamer.

The queen was back in control. Rika missed her chance at freedom. She didn't know if it was truly worth it, but it felt like the right thing to do. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if Henry—well, _anyone_—took her place. It was her burden and she wasn't going to share it. All she could do was hope that someone would help her destroy it.

"Samurai tiger tail!"

Mihiramon struck at the queen, but Gargomon stepped in the way. Rika screamed for Gargomon, but the queen smiled. The blow from Mihiramon's tail was strong enough to send Gargomon flying off the tower. The last Henry saw of his Digimon was Gargomon de-digivolving as he fell.

* * *

Claire caught the falling Digimon. Terriermon was shaking from the pain of the blow he suffered. The Digimon was missing his left arm and Claire gasped at the sight. She held him like a baby and let him rest. A feeling of cold swept through her. If Terriermon was down here, Henry, if not already dead, was alone. A whisper escaped from her, "No… Terriermon."

"Henry…" Terriermon started, but was too weak to continue. That made Claire assume the worst. She shook her head, not wanting to believe that Henry…

"I think Terriermon played too hard," Calumon commented, breaking her thoughts. Claire wanted to punt the Digimon, but she pushed down her anger. There was no use in taking her feelings out on innocent Calumon.

Takato arrived on the scene with Growlmon. The tamer was riding on the dinosaur's back and held onto Growlmon's white hair like it was his lifeline. Takato appeared terrified to be on Growlmon. He was afraid of his own partner.

"Where's Henry and…" Takato spied Terriermon in Claire's arms. He swallowed hard. It was up to him now.

"Takato, if it gets rough… Please, come back to me. You get your ass out of that battle and we'll run. We'll run away," begged Claire. Tears were welling up in her eyes. If Henry was dead, she couldn't bear losing two people. Takato had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember. A few years ago they started becoming closer than ever. Sleepovers, late night walks, and early morning card games. She couldn't imagine her life without all of that. With more conviction in her voice, she said, "But you better win. You kill whatever Digimon is up there for what it did to Terriermon."

Takato didn't understand why Claire had so much faith in him. Takato was unworthy of a Digimon partner and was an awful tamer. Half the time he couldn't control Guilmon and was absolutely petrified by Growlmon. He was afraid Growlmon would become like IceDevimon, evil and willing to do anything for power.

Henry was the ideal tamer, not Takato. He compared himself to Henry and it wrecked what bit of self-confidence he had left. Henry was calm and collected; Takato was spastic and wishful. Henry seemed to have earned Terriermon while Takato just wished Guilmon to be real because he didn't want to grow up. There was no honor in that. He was no tamer.

Of course, he never told Claire any of that. He nodded at her and promised return if things got too tough. _I already know I'm going to lose_… he thought. Takato swiped the hyper wing card through his D-Power and Growlmon flew to the roof of the tower.


	12. Chapter 12

Growlmon couldn't even land without stumbling. Something was different about this battle. The courageous vibe he normally received from his tamer was absolutely shattered. Whatever Takato was feeling, Growlmon felt it. His body felt heavy and sluggish. He felt almost useless. It wasn't fair to him. Anger at his tamer surged through, but quickly subsided. Takato had been nothing but nice to him since creating him. It was even less fair to be mad at him the one time Takato was in doubt.

"Growlmon, move!" the Digimon heard Henry yell.

Mihiramon struck Growlmon with a strong samurai tiger tail. Takato was flung off of his Digimon and skidded across the roof. He lied on his back and watched the scene in front of him. The tamer felt powerless as the scene in front of him took place. There was nothing he could do. _Nothing, useless, out of control_, was the words that floated around in Takato's mind. Was he describing Growlmon or himself? Everything blurred together now. Whatever Takato was, Growlmon also became.

Growlmon took the hit straight to the stomach. He stumbled a few steps back, but managed to stay on the roof. The Digimon lost his breath and wasn't able to form a fireball before Mihiramon attacked again. Mihiramon pinned Growlmon on his back and smirked. The battle was all too easy for him.

"Takato, you have to help him!" Henry shouted at the tamer. His friend was on the ground just _watching_ Growlmon lose. He tried to pick up Takato, but the tamer was absolutely frozen and watching the scene unfold. Henry groaned in agitation and yelled at Mihiramon, "Hey, you big ugly cat!"

Mihiramon broke his attention from Growlmon for a split second. That was enough time for Growlmon to push off from the ground. He gripped one of Mihiramon's wings and snapped it. It wasn't much, but it was a start in the right direction. Mihiramon yipped, but turned his weakness into anger. The ultimate bit down on Growlmon's side hard.

Growlmon was losing ability to hold on to himself. His data was hard to keep together. He turned his head to Takato and reached for his tamer. If there was any time Takato was going to snap out of his daze, it had better be now. Growlmon's voice was barely heard, "Takatomon…"

Takato held his side when Mihiramon chomped down on Growlmon. At first, he honestly believed he was bitten too. The pain was unreal and made him lightheaded. If he could feel Growlmon's pain, could Growlmon feel what Takato felt? When Growlmon called out his name, Takato felt guiltier than ever. It was his fault that Growlmon was losing. It was his fault that they were all going to die. He buried his face in his hands.

"Frozen claw!" called out IceDevimon. The devil clawed at Mihiramon and sent him staggering back. He couldn't believe he had helped the dinosaur, but it might be the only way they'd ever defeat Mihiramon.

Growlmon fell down to the ground and laid still. He reached for his tamer, but Takato was just out of reach. The Digimon was losing grip of reality. Soon, he would be nothing but floating data that would be either absorbed by IceDevimon or Mihiramon. Tears formed in his eyes and he stretched farther for Takato. If he was going to die, he wanted to be with his best friend.

"Oh, Growlmon," Takato started as he watched the Digimon. He wrapped his hands around one of Growlmon's giant claws. His heart was breaking before him as Growlmon struggled to hang on to life. "What have I done to you? This is my fault. I'm the worst tamer to ever exist."

"No," Growlmon corrected him. Takato was surprised at the Digimon's response. He started to retort, but Growlmon cut him off. "I couldn't have asked for a better friend. We were put together because we're the perfect pair. The Digivice came to you just like it did Henry and Rika, did it not? Then you are worthy."

Growlmon's words rang in Takato's mind. He stared down at the D-Power in his hand. Something about him had to be special in order for him to be chosen for a journey of a lifetime. Guilmon was the best journey he could have ever imagined. Guilmon helped him meet one of his greatest friends and grow even closer to another. His grip tightened around the D-Power as he stood up with conviction. He shouted to Growlmon, "You're right. I'm not ready to give up if you aren't."

Takato pulled out a power card, but to his surprise it was the same blue card that had came in the pack of cards Claire gave him. Without even thinking, he swiped the card. If the card could do wonders once, it could surely do it again.

_Matrix digivolution_.

WarGrowlmon was more than Takato could ever imagine. He was armored and fierce. Takato remembered being afraid when Guilmon first evolved into Growlmon. It was terrifying because of how brutal the Digimon was, but nothing about WarGrowlmon scared him. Takato now trusted his partner to always do the right thing.

"Stupid, Digimon. You could have digivolved without your partner. Look how strong you are. You don't need them," Mihiramon tried to convince WarGrowlmon. The ultimate Digimon left IceDevimon's battle and began to circle around his new enemy. "If you joined up with me, we could rule this place. It's as easy as one, two, kill the humans."

"Takato, the tail. Have him attack the tail!" Henry told Takato. He had been watching Mihiramon long enough to figure out a weakness.

IceDevimon heard Henry. The devil grabbed onto the tail and yanked as hard as he could. Mihiramon was dragged backwards. The tiger dug its claws into the roof in a sad attempt to not be pulled.

WarGrowlmon was face to face with Mihiramon. Takato took steps with WarGrowlmon as if they were one. Takato moved his hands where WarGrowlmon would have his around Mihiramon's face. The dinosaur shook his head as he said, "No. Takato makes me better. Takato is my friend. I will never let a Digimon like you hurt him."

"Atomic blaster!" Takato and WarGrowlmon shouted in unison.

There was a bright, red flash of light. Takato was almost blinded by the sight and deafened by the sound. He pulled his goggles down onto his face in a sad attempt to protect his eyes. Henry and Takato grabbed a hold of each other to not only ground themselves, but make sure the other was not blown away during the attack.

The racket soon ceased to silence. Either that, or Takato officially was deaf. He opened his eyes and slowly lifted the goggles off his face. Half of the roof was in ruins. Debris was still breaking off and falling to the ground. That wasn't what was important. He searched around for WarGrowlmon, but the Digimon was nowhere in sight.

"WarGrowlmon?! Buddy…?" Takato called out, but didn't receive any form of response. His stomach dropped at the silence. Was the atomic blaster strong enough to kill his friend? Even worse, it might not have taken out Mihiramon. But the tiger wasn't in sight either.

"Up there," Henry told him and pointed toward the funnel in the sky.

WarGrowlmon had flown into the air after IceDevimon. The devil Digimon was making an escape with Rika in his arms. IceDevimon's form was slowly being pulled into the retreating funnel. The queen glared at the two tamers as she too was fading into the funnel.

"Remind me again why we're running away like cowards to the Digital World. You stole Mihiramon's data before WarGrowlmon could get to it. Aren't you strong enough or am I wasting my time with you?" the queen questioned her partner. The twits down below should be weaker than her. They should bow down to her and beg for IceDevimon to be their partner instead.

"Save me! Don't let them take me!" Rika screamed from inside the queen. Her own voice echoed through her body, but was never truly vocalized. She struggled to take control, but the harder she fought, the more tired she became. All she wanted to do was sleep, but even when the queen slept, Rika could not. What would happen if she did suddenly sleep? Rika knew the answer before she even thought the question. The queen would squash what bit of Rika still existed and Rika would be no more.

"We are going to find the Devas and the sovereign," IceDevimon stated like it was a matter of fact. He wanted a response, but the queen didn't speak. "Mihiramon was talking about world domination of the human world. We're going to join up with them. We'll become stronger and wiser. Then, when all the other humans are gone, you will be the true Digimon queen."

_No,_ Rika thought, but the queen had other plans. She laughed with pleasure at that idea. Her form was almost turned into data and could barely see the two tamers. The queen flicked off the tamers before traveling to the Digital World.

"WarGrowlmon, let them go," Takato sighed. His partner heard his words and stopped in mid-air. Takato could see Rika and IceDevimon disappear into the tunnel. "Let them go. You can't go after them alone."

"As you wish… Tamer," WarGrowlmon said and lowered himself back onto the roof. The Digimon hated the thought of Rika being stolen away, but Takato was right. WarGrowlmon could either chase blindly after them into the Digital World or wait for Takato and the others to devise a plan.

WarGrowlmon picked Takato up and allowed Henry ride on his lower back. It was time to return to the ground.

* * *

Takato was barely able to place his feet on the ground before being tackled. Claire wrapped her arms around him and squeezed harder than he knew she was capable of. He returned the hug, but didn't hug as tightly. The tamer laughed, "Hey, I'm fine. I'll always be fine, alright?"

"I just saw the giant explosion and thought the worst. Then the funnel in the sky disappeared and…" Claire's voice trailed off. She let go of Takato and backed away. The blonde glanced over her best friend to make sure he was in one piece. When she saw nothing was bleeding or bruised on his body, she let out the breath she was holding. Takato had come back to her like he promised.

"You need to stop being so protective of me. I think I can handle this now," Takato continued to laugh and smile. He pointed to WarGrowlmon over his shoulder. Takato still couldn't believe _he _had the power to digivolve Growlmon like he had. There was more to the taming business than he realized and he needed to work at it.

Henry slid off the back of WarGrowlmon and stood next to Takato. He expected the same greeting that Takato received, but he couldn't have been more wrong. Claire punched him in the shoulder instead of a friendly hug. Tears were in her eyes and face had become red. Henry had never dealt with a crying girl other than his sister, Suzie, and wasn't sure how he should handle it. The blue haired boy listened to the words Claire had to say.

"_You!_ I hate you!" she started with a loud shout. She punched him again in the shoulder before some tears rolled down her face. Claire didn't know how to tell him, but she threw her emotions out there the best she could. "I thought you were dead! Terriermon fell down here and I thought the worst. Do you know how much of a damn wreck I was down here wondering what had happened to you?"

Henry was then given a hug almost as strong as Takato's. He didn't defend his actions with logic like he normally would have. Normally, he would have told her that he had to fight in that moment because who knew what would happen if Gargomon hadn't entered the battle when he did. Maybe Mihiramon would have left the tower and ravaged the city. Maybe Mihiramon would have killed IceDevimon and Rika. Maybe everything would have gone better if he had waited for Takato like she asked. Maybe Henry wouldn't have scared her as much as he had.

Henry then thought of his family. They would have been just as worried and scared for him. All he thought about earlier was himself and Gargomon instead of the people it would affect if something had happened to him. _Henry Wong, you are not alone. Don't act like you are, _Claire's words from earlier that morning rang in his head. His actions had an impact on others just as well as himself. Finally understanding, Henry accepted her embraced and rewarded her with silence. Silence, the one thing she probably hated more than him in that moment.

"Momentai," Terriermon said in his sleep. The Digimon had quite the battle earlier and Henry couldn't think of a better way to reward his partner but to let him rest. He picked up the bunny and held him in his arms.

"Rika, Takatomon," WarGrowlmon reminded his tamer. WarGrowlmon let the poor girl be pulled into the Digital World. He wasn't going to feel right until he corrected his mistake.

Takato lowered his head. The funnel to the Digital World had closed after IceDevimon travelled through it. Unless they found another way, Rika was trapped in the mysterious world. He felt sick at the thought and announced, "We need to find a way to the Digital World. No one deserves what she's going through and I could only hope everyone here would do the same for me if it was me."

"How exactly would we do that?" Claire asked. She was no longer an emotional wreck and no longer crying.

"Find a portal to the Digital World. There's plenty out there, just gotta know where to look!" Calumon sang and floated around. The Digimon was just out of reach of the teens and purposely stayed away from WarGrowlmon. "It's like hide and seek, but the portals are the best hiders."

"Hello?" Henry suddenly said. His phone had ringed and he barely answered it before it would have gone to voicemail. His face distorted into a face of horror the more the person calling him talked. He hung up quickly and groaned. "My dad found out I skipped school. I have to go home _now_."

"Fine, we begin our search tomorrow since it'll be Saturday," Takato assumed the others would agree. His two friends nodded and slowly went their separate ways. Rika would have to hold out for the night while they took a breather. It didn't feel right, but it was what had to be done. As he walked WarGrowlmon to the underground tunnels, he sighed, "We'll be there soon, Rika. Just… Stay strong."


	13. Chapter 13

"Claire, wake up."

Claire groaned and pulled the covers over her head. She didn't want to deal with her sister at the time. Actually, she didn't want to deal with her sister ever. The thirteen-year-old was a loner and rarely spoke to anybody. Whenever she did, it was usually something dumb. A couple of hard pokes later, Claire finally asked, "What is it, Alice?"

"Dad isn't happy right now…" Alice's voice trailed off. She was in the middle of putting her short blonde hair up in pigtails. Alice rarely spoke to her sister and it felt strange. They were complete opposites in almost every way, but in times like this they always came together. "I was wondering if y—"

"Want to get the hell out of the house?" Claire finished for her. Alice would normally correct Claire's harsh language, but she kept her mouth shut. It would only cause problems they didn't need. Claire hopped out of bed and changed clothes. "Of course I want to leave. What's his problem this time?"

Alice hesitated before turning on the TV in Claire's room. She flipped through the channels until she found the one that kept playing the same footage over and over. The younger sister had seen the footage so many times that she could almost quote the exchange of words over and over.

Claire couldn't believe what she was seeing. Someone had submitted a cell phone video of the events last night. The first video was her trying to stop Henry from charging off into battle alone. The video was shaky and blurry, but there was no doubt that the two people were Henry and herself. Gargomon, the spotlight of the video, was perfectly in focus though. The poor Digimon and his tamer were now exposed to the entire country. She, not even caring that she was in the video also, found herself saying, "Oh no… Henry and Gargomon."

"That's not the end of it," Alice warned her.

Another video played from a different angle and time. This video had WarGrowlmon carefully landing on the ground with Takato in his arms. Claire didn't have to see the rest to know what happened. She was there, after all. The video clearly stated that she was and there was no way she'd be able to deny it. All of them were exposed.

"The kids in the video were identified by the sender as Henry Wong, Claire McCoy, and Takato Matsuki. The monsters they were with are called Digital Monsters. Not much is known about the children or the Digimon. We are not sure if this is a possible act of terrorism or if children are playing around with something they don't understand," the male news anchor read off of a teleprompter. Claire turned the TV off before she could hear more.

"They think you guys are terrorists," Alice stated what the news anchor had already said. There was Alice's dumb statement of the day.

"They have no idea what they're talking about! Henry and Takato saved this damn city," Claire growled. From what, Claire didn't know. Takato nor Henry told her what they saw. Just that the Digimon was strongest foe they have faced. Alice didn't look so sure what to think, so Claire asked her, "You do believe me, right?"

"Um, I mean…" she started. Alice's blue eyes wouldn't meet Claire's gray stare. She didn't fully know what was going on, but her sister was a good person. Alice also knew Takato. Over the years, Takato is the one that kept Claire on the right path. If Takato was involved, it couldn't be evil. "Yeah."

Claire pushed open her window and let the breeze blow her hair. She climbed onto the roof of her house and her sister followed. Alice sat next to her sister and looked out into the city. The sisters sat in silence, for there was nothing to say. Alice had questions, but she kept them to herself. Claire would tell her everything whenever she was ready.

A Digimon appeared next to Claire on the roof. Alice wanted to be afraid, but Claire didn't even flinch. If her sister wasn't scared, she wasn't going to be either. This Digimon must be a good one like the two shown in the video. Alice felt safe for the first time in awhile at her own home.

"Are you going with Takato and Henry whenever they find a portal to the Digital World?" Renamon asked without looking at anyone specific. There was no question that the fox was referring to Claire. The wind ruffled Renamon's fur as it picked up again. It was an awfully nice and calm day outside. Renamon wondered how long it would last before something sent the day into chaos.

"Are you?" Claire avoided the question. She lied on her back and stared at the sky. Some clouds rolled by slowly and others broke apart. Claire wished she could be carefree and float up in the sky. Maybe then she could find peace in her crazy life.

"Of course. I would like it if you were by my side. Not as a tamer, but as a good friend."

"Claire," Alice spoke up. She didn't know much of what they were talking about or what was going on, but she had heard enough to form an opinion. For once, Alice had something insightful to say. "You should go. It's your ticket out of this house."

"What about you?" she questioned her sister. Claire was the sole target of their father's aggression, but Alice got the butt of it sometimes too. If Claire were to disappear, Alice would be the center of it all. The sisters didn't get along well, but Claire cared enough to not ditch her sister.

Alice pulled the sleeve of her dress over a bruise on her arm. She shrugged and tried her best to smile at her older sister. It was a poor attempt to be brave like Claire, but she gave it a shot. She almost laughed, "It's not my time."

"Thank you," Renamon thanked her friend. Claire wasn't as strong and driven as Rika, but she was kind and thoughtful. The fox still felt like she could never make up for the kindness of her friend.

Claire hugged her sister and headed inside her room. She packed up a backpack full of clothes and random necessities she might need later. The teen knew that it might be days, weeks, possibly months, before they found a portal, but it didn't matter. It was an excuse to leave the house for good.

She texted both Takato and Henry before leaving. Her phone buzzed at a response and head toward the boy that answered first.

* * *

Claire's text had awoken Takato. Six in the freaking morning. What was so important that Claire had to text him that early? He didn't even read what the message said. Takato told Claire that he was sleeping and immediately fell back to sleep. The tamer received maybe ten more minutes of sleep before his mom called his name from downstairs.

"Takato, I need you to run to the store!" she shouted.

"My god," he mumbled. Women didn't want the man to sleep that morning. Takato didn't bother changing out of his pajamas. He kept the plaid pants on and slipped his blue hoodie on over his white shirt before sleepily stepping downstairs. "What am I getting?"

"My hairdryer went kaput! Your father and I need to start making today's bread, so will you be a dear and buy me one?" his mother asked and handed Takato the money. She kissed Takato on the top of his head before heading into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I guess. Don't see why I have to do this now," he groaned to himself, but left the bakery as instructed. Takato wanted to just sleep. He felt so physically exhausted that he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to make it to the store.

With each step, Takato felt more lightheaded. At one point, he even swore that he was sleepwalking. Actually, he couldn't remember the walk to the store at all. He just opened his eyes and there he was. Takato read the time on his phone and thirty minutes had passed. It scared him that he was that tired.

It took him a bit to decide which hair dryer to buy. He knew nothing about hair products or supplies, so he just grabbed a red one. Takato liked red, so having a red hair dryer would be cool. Then again, it wasn't his. Also, then again, he didn't care. If he bought the wrong product, he wouldn't make the trip back. The tamer sighed, knowing he actually would if his mom told him to take it back. The teen was a huge momma's boy.

The cashier kept giving Takato weird looks as he was buying the hair dryer. He thought it was his current outfit choice, but the woman didn't take her eyes off of his face. Takato laughed on the inside. The woman must have never seen a guy buy a hair dryer before. It took her a moment to realize Takato was handing her money. She shook her head and accepted the money. Takato chuckled, "You probably don't believe me, but it's for my mom."

The woman didn't respond, but continued to stare. She handed him the correct change before backing away from him. Takato gave her an awkward way goodbye and headed out of the store. He could feel her eyes focused on him after he left. The teen sighed, "What a strange lady."

The stares didn't stop after his trip to the store. He passed three adults and all three became pale and hurried away. Takato lifted his arm up and smelled his armpit. Nope, he didn't smell. When the next adult that gave him a weird look, Takato asked him, "Is there something wrong?"

"A-A-Aren't you Takato Matsuki?" the twenty-year-old asked. His hands shook the longer he stood. Takato could even see his belly fat shaking. If the man was that cold, he should have worn a jacket.

"Uh, yeah. And you are?"

The male ran away faster than Takato expected the overweight guy to be able to run. Takato crinkled his nose in annoyance and continued to walk back to the bakery. He was curious as to how the man knew him, but he had a feeling he would never find out.

"What a weird morning," he said aloud. Takato was quite puzzled and annoyed that he was puzzled. The tamer hated puzzle games. There was no joy in playing a puzzle game. Takato never understood the rewarding feeling people received from finishing puzzles. He shook his head violently, getting his mind back on track.

Takato stopped in his tracks when he saw all the people gathered outside of the bakery. He dropped the hair dryer at the sight. Tons of people were carrying microphones and cameras. The tamer cocked his head to the side as he tried to figure out the sudden attention to the bakery. Last time a food business received this much attention, the company went out of business because it was infested with rats. His parent's bakery wasn't filled with rats, so something went down when he left on his journey to the store.

Someone pulled him into the closest building. Takato struggled at first, but he recognized Claire's hushing. She covered his mouth and hissed, "Are you crazy? You can't walk through your front door with all those news people!"

"Well, why not?" he asked. Takato could see the dropped hair dryer box outside the building and wanted to go pick it up. Claire stopped him from leaving. "It's just a hair dryer, not a bomb. It's not going to explode if I go grab it."

"You're so dense sometimes, Matsuki," Claire groaned and face palmed. She took a moment to let her anger subside before speaking again. "Those reporters and news stations are there for you. You, me, Henry… We're all over the news."

"Oh. Did we win an academic award?" yawned Takato. He stretched and popped his back as he spoke. After thinking a moment, he realized that he would never win an academic award. Henry would and Claire might, but never Takato. The tamer was now wide awake. He corrected his question, "Is it the Digimon? Please tell me it's not the Digimon."

"There you go. Now you're catching on." Claire filled Takato in on the videos surfacing on the news.

"Oh man. What are we going to do?" Takato asked. He didn't even wait for Claire to answer because he had already thought up a plan. "I don't know how we'll ever explain Digimon to the public, but we still need to help Rika. We have to look for a portal."

Claire didn't voice that she hoped to be stuck in the Digital World. That was the farthest possible she could get away from her abusive father. Takato knew her well enough to know what she was thinking. He reminded her, "We have to find it first though."

"I know… Let's go meet Guilmon in the tunnels. We'll both try getting a hold of Henry."

* * *

The beating in his head was almost too much. Henry felt like his head was literally being rattled around from noise. He checked the time on his alarm clock. It was just past noon. The boy had never slept in so late in his life and didn't know why he suddenly did. Each movement of his body sent aching through his body. It felt like he just finished running a marathon. His arm and head felt the worst pain though.

"Henry, something weird is happening," Terriermon told his tamer. Strange, Terriermon rarely woke up before Henry. He must have really exhausted himself in the battle the night before.

"I know. I feel like I've died and come back," answered Henry. He went straight to the bathroom in the hall to take pills. Swallowing the pills dry, he coughed. His mom always warned him not to do that, but he never listened. Henry filled a cup full of water and quickly drank.

"Henry, do you not hear that?" Terriermon followed him to the bathroom. Henry quickly picked him up like he was a stuffed animal in case someone was to walk by. He shushed his partner, but Terriermon wagged a finger on his one hand. "Everyone here already knows. Your parents and Suzie both know. Your brother and sister in college even know. Both of them already called and asked to speak with you to make sure you were okay."

"What?" was all he said. He could hear tons of chatter from somewhere, but he couldn't identify where from. Henry peeked from inside the bathroom, but no one was standing there. The noise became a notch louder when he opened the bathroom door. "It sounds like tons of people."

"It is tons of people."

Henry jumped at the sound of his father's voice. He bowed his head and didn't even bother to turn around to face his dad. It still wasn't clear what was happening, but Henry could hear the anger and disappointment in Janyu's tone. This was the second time in a twenty-four hour period that the worst thing could happen to Henry. There was nothing worse than disappointing his parents.

"Mr. Wong, please don't be mad at him. He's only doing what is right," Terriermon quickly tried to explain. For once, Terriermon wasn't putting his foot in his mouth. Last night showed him the seriousness of the events they were involved in.

"No, I know. I trust my son's judgment." Janyu's voice was much lighter. He pushed Henry's chin up so he could look into his son's eyes. Henry tried his best to keep a straight face, for he didn't want his father to see how much his disappointment hurt him. Janyu continued, "I just don't understand why you wouldn't tell me about your Digimon. You know I helped create Digimon, but back then we just thought it was a game. This is an amazing step into science! Oh, you don't realize how excited about researching this I am."

Henry was surprised at the sudden turn of emotions from his father. Janyu appeared genuinely excited as he took Terriermon out of Henry's hands. It wasn't the first time Janyu had looked over Terriermon, but he still couldn't get over the fact that the Digimon even existed. He poked at the tiny nub where Terriermon's left arm should be. Terriermon winced and exclaimed, "I'd hit you if there was an arm there to use!"

"Terriermon, that's classified as rude," Henry told his partner. Granted, his dad was the one poking and proding without Terriermon's permission. Henry took his Digimon back before Terriermon became too angry. He asked, "But why are there tons of people?"

Terriermon ran to the living room of the apartment. Henry followed the bunny and watched him turn on the TV. The tamer watched the newscast in horror. That was _him_ in the video. Takato, Claire, and himself were being made out as terrorists to the entire city, if not country. Henry accidentally let fly in front of his dad, "Oh shit."

"Now _that _classifies as rude," Terriermon giggled. Henry's glare shut the bunny up before more was said.

"'Oh shit' is putting it lightly," Janyu sighed. Henry started explaining the videos to his dad, but Janyu raised a hand to stop him. "I have no doubt that your actions were right. Whoever sent this in made you three look bad."

Henry's dad had a point. The teen recalled that in the newscast the three of them had been identified by the sender. Someone who knew them betrayed their trust and turned in a video. Names flew through Henry's mind, but none that would do that to them. He asked his dad, "I know you took my phone away last night, but having it now would be extremely helpful. I have to check in on Takato and Claire."

Janyu returned his son's phone to him. When he turned it on, the phone was immediately blown up with texts and missed called. Some of the calls and texts were from people he hadn't even talked to in years. Many voicemails and texts were calling him crazy and a vermin. He shook his head and continued looking for voicemails and texts from his two friends. Takato had called him at three separate occasions. Claire originally sent a text at six in the morning and another at eleven.

"Dad, I have to find my friends. I nee—" Henry started.

"Go," Janyu trusted his son. He nodded and gave Henry a smile. "You will just have to fill me in later. Just remember that I'm proud of you no matter what."

Terriermon sloppily climbed onto Henry's head. It wasn't easy to do with just one arm anymore. Henry waited for Terriermon to be comfy before striding out of his apartment. If he would have known what would happen next, he would have chosen the window.

"Henry!"

"How does it feel to be kid that's a terrorist?"

"Mr. Wong!"

"How do you defend yourself against these claims against you?"

Cries from news reporters came from all around him. Henry stood frozen at the sight of all the people. He wondered how that many people could fit in a hallway, but it wasn't the time to think too much into that. The tamer shoved his way through the reporters and to the stairs. The reporters reached for him, but never touched him. It was one of those rare moments that he was glad he was underage. If they touched him, _they _could be the ones in trouble.

"Sheesh, most of those people smell like a giant cheeseball of sweat," laughed the bunny once they were in the stairwell. Voices followed them and Terriermon groaned. "They're following us, Henry."

Henry took off in a sprint once he reached the bottom of the stairs. He called Takato as he ran.


	14. Chapter 14

Jeri and Kenta were in the tunnels waiting. Kenta was chatting away with Guilmon, but Jeri stared at the entrance of the tunnel. It concerned her that Takato hadn't stopped by yet to check on Guilmon. It was also strange that the city wasn't searching everywhere for Guilmon and Terriermon. Eventually, Guilmon would be found. Jeri was already dreading that day.

She didn't know Takato that well, but she liked the person she saw in his eyes. He was brave, willful, and cared way more for people than they deserved. Jeri imagined how devastated Takato would be if Guilmon was taken away from him. Takato would be crushed. The girl didn't want to picture Takato being depressed and never smiling.

Takato showed up with Claire not too long after. He was surprised to see two of his friends there and greeted them with a nod. There was nothing to be happy about yet. Jeri frowned, already seeing the affects of the news on her friend. She asked him, "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," he responded in a monotone voice.

"Takatomon, why are you and Claire so sad?" Guilmon asked, finally turning away from Kenta. Kenta seemed sad that he was no longer the center of the Digimon's attention, but didn't stop Guilmon from talking to Takato.

"Because the poor babies can't handle the hate."

A purple Digimon began to whistle as he walked closer. His hands were behind his head and eyes shut. When he knew he was next to Guilmon, he stopped moving. A chuckle escaped his mouth as he opened his eyes. "You poor, poor Digimon. How does it feel to be hated more than an imp?"

"Nobody hates Guilmon! He's just portrayed poorly!" Kenta defend the dinosaur. He immediately wanted to disappear. Kenta wasn't very good at confrontations. It made him nervous and sweaty, sometimes even puke. The teen pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and stepped back into the shadows of the tunnel.

"Impmon," Takato read off of his D-Power's projection. "Rookie level. He's not much to worry about."

"Not much to worry about?!" Impmon shouted. He posed in the stereotypical angry girl pose. Takato almost laughed when Impmon placed his hands on his hips. Impmon growled, "You and that Digimon queen must be close friends."

"Rika?" gasped Jeri. She didn't know much of what has happened, but she overheard Takato mention the queen before.

"Yeah, I know that bitch."

Claire was a bit more aggressive in her questioning. She picked up Impmon and pinned him against the wall. It was a bit of an overreaction, but it would get the answers they needed to hear sooner. The girl demanded, "What do you know about Rika and IceDevimon?"

"Why should I tell you anything?" the imp laughed. It made him a bit nervous that a human was brave enough to attack him head on, but he wasn't above hurting a human if he had to. She did attack first, after all.

Renamon appeared behind Claire. The fox was scary and intimidating in the shadows of the tunnel. She cracked her knuckles to show she was ready to fight if Impmon didn't answer the question. Impmon swallowed hard. Claire slammed Impmon against the wall again and asked with more conviction in her tone, "What do you know about Rika and IceDevimon?!"

"Okay, okay. Just put me down." Claire abided to Impmon's one request. "I heard through the grape vine about a queen. When I checked her out, IceDevimon tried to attack me, but I apparently wasn't worth the time. I heard they went to the Digital World to join up with the Devas."

"Devas?" Guilmon repeated. It was a term he felt like he should know, but his attention span didn't last very long. "Impmon smells like he needs a bath."

"What are Devas?" Takato tried to talk over Guilmon. He had to remind himself later to tell Guilmon to be careful what he says. That statement sounded like words out of Terriermon's mouth.

"You all really don't know what you're getting involved with, do you?" Impmon snickered. He brushed dirt off of his shoulder. It felt good to hold knowledge over the tamer and Impmon was going to milk it as much as he could. "You pissed off some very important Digimon. They're all coming for you."

Takato felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. If Impmon wasn't holding some information, he would take the time to answer his phone. _It might be Henry_, he thought. He'd just call the other tamer back in a minute. Henry did dodge all their calls and messages earlier, so he could wait a minute. The teen groaned, "Come on, just tell us straight."

"We don't quite have the time for this. We have more important things to be doing right now," Claire added on. She clinched her fist and did her best not to shove Impmon again. If she attacked, he might not ever tell the group information.

"Like what? Are you going to chase down that bastardly queen to the Digital World?" Impmon joked, but frowned when Takato and Claire exchanged a glance. The Digimon smirked at the thought of the two attempting to run around the Digital World. "And so you are, huh? Yeah, good luck with the Devas chasing you."

"You're going to the Digital World?" Jeri asked Takato.

Takato wasn't planning on telling Kenta and Jeri until he was going to leave. The Digital World was mysterious to them. If Jeri or Kenta got hurt, he didn't know how he could live with himself. He thought about Claire going to. Why was he so willing to let Claire go, but cringed at the thought of Jeri and Kenta going? Renamon seems to have attached herself to Claire for the time being, but Takato was ready to let Claire before then. The tamer knew he wouldn't be able to turn away Kenta and Jeri if they asked to go.

"We're going to the Digital World!" Kenta exclaimed. He and Jeri both were smiling big. Turns out they weren't even going to ask. They would assume they were going. "Maybe I'll meet my own partner."

"Henry?" Claire suddenly said. She had her phone to her ear. "Henry, I can't understand you. There's so much noise."

Takato wished he had answered the phone when Henry first called him. Claire sounded concerned and her face portrayed her worry. Her eyes darted around as she tried to listen to what Henry was telling her. She ended up putting him on speaker phone. The girl said, "I still can't understand you, Henry. Try talking slower and louder."

"Another…" Henry's voice could be heard over a bunch of noise. Claire could swear she heard Gargomon's voice. "Appeared… Subway!"

The phone beeped to let Claire know Henry either hung up or the line went dead. She stared at her phone for a few seconds before trying to call Henry back. The call was immediately sent to voicemail. Again she called, but sent to voicemail again. When the tone beeped, Claire said, "Henry, now's not the time to suddenly stop answering."

"He said something about the subway. We should check the closest station," Jeri suggested.

No other word was said. The group left Impmon behind to go help their friend.

* * *

Henry didn't want to involve himself in another solo battle. The tamer learned his lesson from the day before. Fate wouldn't leave him alone when it came to that decision. He noticed the digital field mist creeping out of a stairwell to the subway. Terriermon jumped off of his head to run toward it, but Henry caught him midair.

"This is another ultimate. We can't ignore it," Terriermon whined. The Digimon attempted to cross his arms, but it was hard to do with one arm. He stared at his right arm before glaring at Henry. "I'm not weak now, if that's what you think. If anything, I am stronger now. It's less for Digimon like Mihiramon to grab onto."

"I can't let you get hurt like that again." Henry's voice was weak. The image of Mihiramon biting down on Gargomon filled his mind. He couldn't let that happen again to his partner. It was a close call. Mihiramon could have attacked elsewhere. They were lucky it was just an arm.

Screams came from the subway. Henry shut his eyes and tried to drown them out. He took a few steps away, but each step made his heart feel heavier. The tamer knew Terriermon felt it too, for the Digimon kept his eyes locked on him. Finally, Henry groaned, "Alright, alright! We can't let this go. I'll make a call to Claire and Takato."

"Finally! Sheesh, I thought I was going to have to bunny blast some sense into you!" Terriermon laughed and flipped out of Henry's arms. He ran down the steps and into the subway.

"Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!" Henry shouted as he swiped the card through his D-Power. A flash of light emitted from the subway, letting him know that Terriermon digivolved. Henry dialed Claire's number as he ran down the stairs after Gargomon. The moment Claire answered, Henry said, "Hey, there's a Digimon in the subway systems. Gargomon said it's another ultimate."

"Henry, I can't understand you. There's so much noise."

Henry was standing in the battlefield. A giant snake Digimon was bashing the walls and pillars as it slithered around. He watched the snake swallow a person whole. The shrieks were almost too much for his ears to handle. The situation became much more serious than he had anticipated. The tamer said aloud, "It _ate _somebody! That Digimon ate a living, breathing person!"

"I still can't understand you, Henry. Try talking slower and louder," he barely heard Claire say over the phone. Her voice sounded worried. If she knew he entered another battle without calling them first, she'd hate him even more.

"Gargo laser!" Gargomon yelled as he jumped and blasted at the snake before it could snap at another person. The laser hit the snake's head, but didn't do any damage. The snake hissed and snapped its head toward Gargomon.

"Another Digimon appeared in the subway systems!" Henry tried to yell over Gargomon's attack. The snake's tail whipped Henry off of his feet and he lost grip of his phone. It slid away from him and out of reach. Gargomon landed right on top of the phone, shattering it. The Digimon lifted his foot and gave Henry an awkward smile. Henry groaned, "Fantastic."

"That's one less bill to play," Gargomon, taking his eyes off of the snake, laughed in an attempt to cheer up his tamer. Before Henry could call out to him, the snake wrapped its tail around Gargomon's leg. The snake held Gargomon upside down.

"Sandiramon," Henry read off his D-Power's screen. "Ultimate level. He can spit up an axe if we piss him off enough."

Gargomon pointed his one gun Sandiramon's face. The snake chuckled at the bunny and shook his head. The Digimon spoke, "And what are you going to do with that? You're only at half power."

Henry swiped a power card at Sandiramon's words. No one was going to mock Gargomon and get away with it. Gargomon smirked when the power flowed through him. The bunny shot bullets into Sandiramon's mouth before the ultimate could close it. It didn't damage the snake, but it stunned him. The snake let go of Gargomon and coughed. Gargomon chuckled, "Half the power, my ass. I can be a pretty huge annoyance still."

Sandiramon continued to cough until the bullets were in his mouth. The snake used the same force to spit the bullets at Henry as he would to spit acid. The first bullet that Sandiramon spat up caught Henry off guard. It drilled straight into his foot. The tamer was in such a state of shock that he didn't even feel the pain. He just stared at the blood seeping through his sock and shoe. Henry was on his knees and pressed his hands on his foot to stop the bleeding. If he didn't drop down when he did, another bullet would have caught his shoulder.

"Bunny pummel!" Gargomon punched Sandiramon's face. The remainder of the bullets flew out of the snake's mouth and clattered to the ground.

Growlmon stomped into the subway terminal with Takato, Claire, Jeri, and Kenta on his back. He squatted to allow everyone off of him. Claire ran straight to the injured Henry and slipped her jacket off to wrap around his foot. He sat still as Claire carefully took his shoe and sock off. She could see the bullet not too far lodged into his foot. She gagged at all the blood. "Oh shit, Henry. I don't know if I can pull that out."

Takato swiped a power card through his D-Power. Growlmon bit down on Sandiramon's lower body. It was the only part of the snake in reasonable distance. The snake's attention was on Gargomon, so he never saw Growlmon's attack coming.

"Kenta, take out your phone," Jeri suddenly gasped. Kenta did as Jeri asked. She pointed toward the scene in front of her. "Record this. Record them defeating a Digimon that was truly terrorizing the town. Also show what it did to Henry."

Kenta held his phone in the air and pointed toward the battle scene. He began recording just in time for Sandiramon to snap at Growlmon. Growlmon bit through the snake's body, completely ripping off the lower half. Sandiramon shrieked at the pain and dove at Growlmon.

"Now, Growlmon!" Takato shouted. Kenta made sure to record Takato's command. They were a single unit: tamer and Digimon.

"Pyro blaster!" Growlmon spat out a fireball that hit Sandiramon head on. Sandiramon caught fire and his shrieks became louder. Gargomon pointed his gun at the snake, ready to put him out of his misery.

"There are ten more. You'll regret killing me. Ten more to avenge me and destroy your world," warned Sandiramon. Takato wanted to hear more, for Sandiramon must be a Deva. They all needed to know more about the Deva.

Gargomon wasn't having it though. He shot a powerful, green laser straight between Sandiramon's eyes. The Deva exploding into data, which Gargomon happily absorbed. This wasn't a Digimon that deserved to return to the Digital World. Gargomon spat, "Good riddance."

The pain became real when Claire tugged at the bullet in Henry's foot. Henry shouted and begged for Claire to stop. Takato held his friend down to allow Claire to continue pulling the bullet out. He apologized, "I'm sorry. We have to."

"Just take me to a damn hospital!" Henry begged. The pain was felt throughout his entire body and not just his foot. He tried to pull away from Takato, but his friend held strong.

"How are we going to explain this to a doctor? 'Oh, hello, sir. Henry was shot in the foot. A snake spat a bullet at him.' Yeah, that doesn't sound absolutely nuts," Takato explained. He tightened his grip on Henry when he struggled. Takato felt for his friend, but he'd want Henry to hold him down if it were him.

Gargomon knelt down next to Henry. The bunny managed to hold a smile to cheer up his tamer. Henry stared at Gargomon's nub for an arm and his eyes watered. He had nothing to complain about when Gargomon completely lost an arm. The pain must have been worse than what Henry was feeling. The tamer found himself saying allowed, in his best impression of his Digimon, "Momentai."

During that moment, Claire managed to pull the bullet out. Henry winced, but no longer shouted. Claire dropped the bullet before turning to throw up. The blood was just too much for her. She couldn't handle gore.

Jeri wrapped Claire's jacket around Henry's foot as a temporary bandage, as Claire had intended. She pulled hand wipes out of her purse and grasped Claire's hands. The teen wiped Claire's hands clean of blood after the girl was done barfing. Claire hiccupped, "Thanks."

"I'm going to send this in to the news station," Kenta stated as he watched Growlmon and Gargomon's battle over again. He nodded and continued, "Yeah. They need to see you all are defending the city, not attacking."

"It's worth a shot. Good idea," complimented Takato. He watched the video on Kenta's phone, too.

"I wish I could claim the idea, but it was Jeri's. She's the true smart one," Kenta admitted. Jeri blushed at the compliment. She shrugged like it was nothing.

"I'm going to take Henry home. He can't do anything else today," Claire said, helping Henry to his feet. He balanced himself on one foot, but leaned on Claire for support. "I'm sorry, guys, but Rika is going to have to wait until we get this Deva situation figured out."

"What? I can still search around!" Takato exclaimed. The tamer couldn't abandon a fellow tamer like that. He kept putting himself in Rika's shoes and wouldn't want people to give up on him. He shook his head and stated, "Kenta can turn the video in tonight. You can take Henry home and meet up with Jeri, Kenta, and me tomorrow morning. I'd say tonight, but after the video on the news, we should lay low tonight."

No one had ever seen Takato in leader mode before. It was strange, but it was comforting to know someone had a plan. Everyone split up to go home except for Kenta, who went to the news station.

* * *

"Henry, what happened?" Janyu asked when Claire helped Henry through the door. Henry was thankful that his dad scared the news reporters away. They would have a hay day with his injury. When Henry didn't answer his father, he said, "It doesn't matter. Let's just get you fixed up."

Janyu placed Henry on the dinner table and unwrapped the jacket from around his foot. He winced at the sight, but ran to grab the first aid kit. The concerned father poured peroxide onto the injury. Henry called out in pain and slammed his fist onto the table. Janyu continued to clean the wound.

"Is there anything I could do?" Claire asked and turned away from the father and son. The sight of the injury made her want to puke all over again. She leaned against the table and Terriermon hopped off of her head, landing on the table next to Janyu. The father was beginning to wrap up the gunshot wound, so Claire took it as a no. "I'll head out then."

"Stay," Henry said through gritted teeth. He grabbed Claire's hand as the pain continued through his foot. Claire blushed, but left her hand. Henry continued, with a bit less force in his voice, "Please. Stay."

"Um, alright. If that's what you want." Her voice practically squeaked. Claire's face managed to become redder and hotter. The blonde was thankful that she was turned away and Henry couldn't see her face. What was wrong with her? She never was like this around anybody.

Janyu was finished wrapping up Henry's foot. He backed away and glanced over his son. A sigh of relief was released when he saw there were no further wounds and injuries. The man hugged his son and said, "We have a lot to talk about later. No more running out until you tell me everything."

"Momentai, Mr. Wong. I got him covered," Terriermon tried to reassure him. He also felt like he was trying to reassure himself. Terriermon was the reason Henry took a bullet to the foot. The Digimon put on a fake smile.

"I'm going to tell your mom to bring home dinner whenever she picks up Suzie. Dinner for the family, Terriermon, and a lady guest," Janyu said as he stepped into the next room to make the call. He winked at his son, causing Henry to blush up a storm.

Henry let go of Claire's hand and cleared his throat. Claire was now facing him, for his wound was wrapped up and out of sight. Henry scratched the back of his head, a bit lost for words. The girl, always having something to say, broke the silence, "Tell your dad he doesn't have to buy me dinner. It's fine. I'll just go over to Ta—"

"Takato's and what?" Henry interrupted and raised an eyebrow. He waited for response, but Claire didn't give him an answer. "You've stay the night at Takato's a lot, right? What's the difference about this?"

_It's a lot different_, she thought, but didn't vocalize. Takato didn't drive her crazy, make her heart flutter, or blush at certain words and actions. Claire hated Henry for that. Stupid quiet and level-headed Henry. He was the exact opposite of everything she was, but that only made her feel all the more strongly about him. It made everything different.

"That's what I thought," Henry broke her silence. He wasn't sure what her silence meant, but he hoped it was in his favor. It actually bothered him that Claire would prefer to stay the night with Takato. He sighed, "If you want to go, then go. It's your decision."

"If you stay, Henry would smile for days!" Terriermon announced. Henry pushed his partner off of the table. Terriermon laughed and landed on his feet. It was fun embarrassing his tamer.

"Okay. Just tonight," Claire smiled. Just like Terriermon had said and despite the earlier events, Henry felt like he could smile for days.

* * *

"Takato?" his mom called out when he entered the bakery. His mom stepped out of the kitchen and asked, "Where's my hair dryer?"

"Oh yeah," Takato sighed, but didn't really care. His mom realized Guilmon was standing next to him and screamed. Takato raised his hands to calm her down. "He's tame. He's tame."

"Takatomon, you never told me your mom was made of bread," Guilmon laughed as he smelt her. Takato's mom was frozen in spot as Guilmon circled her.

"That kid in the video really was you then?" His dad asked as he stepped in the room. He bent down next to Guilmon and patted him on the head. "He's a lot cuter in person. He was terrifying in the video."

"I'm not always cute?" questioned Guilmon. He cocked his head to the side and appeared sad. Takato's mom swatted at the Digimon and he growled.

"I don't care if he's cute or not! There's a monster in our home!" she screamed.

"Mom, stop! Guilmon, don't you dare do anything!" Takato shouted at both parties. He sat his parents down at the table. The tamer wasn't sure how he was going to tell them, but he started with, "Don't get mad or upset. Just please listen until the end of the story. I want you to know everything."


	15. Chapter 15

**The Viper- thank you for such a kind review. I was beginning to feel a bit down about this story, so your words helped encourage me to keep going! Thank you for that. :)**

**sonofthetrigod- the same goes to you. Thank you for constantly reviewing. It has helped me want to keep going with this. Thanks for being awesome!**

**Lately I have focused on a bunch of build up for Takato, Henry, Claire, and Rika, so I thought I'd show some of the more minor characters a bit of love and give them a chapter all about them. Here are short bits on Jeri, Kenta, and Kazu :)**

* * *

Takato had offered to walk Jeri home, but she declined. It made her blush that Takato would make such an offer, but she just lived too far away from his bakery. The walk would be really long for the tamer. She was beginning to develop a fangirl crush, but she knew it was pointless. No point in liking someone that would never like her back.

"But wouldn't be so nice if he did," she said with a smile. Jeri spun around in a giddy haze and put her hands into the air. Every single cheesy Broadway love song popped into mind. She hummed them as she continued to spin. Her heart fluttered as she placed her and Takato in the Broadway love scenes. The girl sighed, "If only."

Jeri spun straight into Kazu. The boy dropped what appeared to be a DVD and about had a heart attack. He dove for the DVD and hid it in his pocket. It was odd, but Kazu was an odd child anyways. In fact, Jeri hadn't seen him in awhile. She greeted him first with a smile. "Hey, Kazu! Where have you been? Kenta and Takato miss you, you know."

"Oh… Well…" Kazu's eyes darted around. He fiddled his thumbs in his pocket and wouldn't make eye contact with Jeri. The boy was a nervous wreck. Jeri reached for him, but Kazu snapped back to normal. He growled, "They're the ones that left me. They're the ones not talking to me."

Jeri was unconvinced by his words. Something was strange, but she couldn't place it. She frowned and answered, "I don't believe you. You can't suddenly go from their best friends to hating them. What's going on Kazu? You can talk to me."

"Nothing is going on, Jeri. Stay out of it." With that, Kazu stomped off. Jeri's eyes followed Kazu until she could no longer see him. She crinkled her nose, only more confused than she was before.

"He's grumpy. I tried to play with him earlier and he said that I didn't exist," Calumon said, suddenly appearing next to Jeri. She gasped and placed her hand over her heart. Calumon jumped at her reaction and gave what sounded like a yip. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

"No, you are perfectly fine. I was just super focused," she laughed and held the tiny Digimon. Calumon snuggled close to her body and she smiled. Jeri knew Calumon was a loner, but wished that she could have a Digimon as fun as him.

Another Digimon walked into sight, almost causing her to drop Calumon in awe. She recognized him from one of the cards Takato had shown her. It was Leomon. The handsome lion was out of breath and holding his arm. Leomon was injuried. Jeri felt like she should run from whatever hurt Leomon, but she couldn't turn away from helping someone.

"Leomon," Jeri started, trying not to sound star struck. The Digimon turned his head to her. She touched where he held his arm. He started to growl, but her touch was so gentle that she couldn't possibly want to hurt him. Jeri continued, "Who hurt you?"

"Kumbhiramon. He's a nasty Deva," Leomon told her. He knelt down on one knee so he was face to face with Jeri. It was nice of her to be concerned, but she was in danger. "Get out of here, little one. He'll harm you on sight."

The mouse Deva hobbled around the corner. Kumbhiramon was squeaking from exhaustion. Jeri grinned from ear to ear at the sight of the Deva. She stepped in front of Kumbhiramon and bent down so her face was almost right in front of his. The girl exclaimed, "You are so tiny and cute!"

"What the hell?" Kumbhiramon said and backed away.

Jeri patted him on the head, so Kumbhiramon bit her hand. She shrieked and gave Kumbhiramon a hard kick. The Deva rolled onto his back. He rolled from side to side, but couldn't stand up off of the ground. Feeling bad, Jeri helped him onto his feet. She apologized, "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to hurt you."

"Deva clone!" Kumbhiramon shouted in annoyance. The Digimon split into six different Kumbhiramon and surrounded Jeri. It wasn't until then that Jeri realized this was the Digimon Leomon feared.

"Fist of the beast king!"

One of Kumbhiramon's clones dispersed. Leomon continued to punch other clones until all were gone. It only left the one mouse. Kumbhiramon tried to run, but Leomon picked him up and slammed him to the ground. As Kumbhiramon's data was disappearing, Leomon stated, "You shouldn't have harmed someone that was nicer than you deserve."

That time, Jeri really did drop Calumon. A white D-Power with a yellow rim appeared and was lowered into her hands. Leomon was hers! Her knuckles were white from gripping the D-Power so tightly. She exclaimed, "Leomon, you're my partner!"

"You've got to be kidding," he responded, but saw the D-Power in her hands. They had just met and he cared enough for her to become her partner. He was growing soft. Leomon started to walk away, but stopped. After the life he lived, maybe it wasn't so bad to have someone around that was kind to him.

Jeri was ecstatic when Leomon lifted her on his shoulder. If this didn't impress Takato, she didn't know what would.

* * *

Kenta was always the follower. He'd blindly follow what other people told him to do. It was in his nature. Nothing was special about him. The boy wasn't the smartest in Digimon, school, or in social situations. Everything he did involved the help of someone else. The one time he beat Kazu in a battle was thanks to coaching from a local tournament winner. _Nothing was special_.

All except his ability to edit videos. He pulled the videos of the battle off of his phone and was editing them on the computer. The teen was able to take as much shake out of it as he could, allowing the video to be more clear. Kenta raised the volume on Takato and Growlmon's pyro blaster. The call was now clear as day.

Next was a shot of Henry and Gargomon. It started with Gargomon blowing up the snake, but the champion Digimon immediately walked to his tamer. Henry was yelling, but when Gargomon appeared by his side, the tamer was calm. It was a silent conversation, but it was enough to let people know they were friends. They were partners. The duo was as much of heroes as Takato and Growlmon.

Kenta burned it all onto DVD. He ran out of his house toward the inner city. In excitement, he held the DVD over his head. It was his proof that he could do something on his own. Something without the help of another. The accomplishment might be minor to a person, but to Kenta it meant the world.

He stormed through the doors and slammed the DVD on the secretary's desk. Kenta was breathing heavy, for he was not in shape. Using one finger, he pushed it toward the aghast secretary. She read the writing on the DVD aloud, "'The Real Heroes of Japan,' huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's… More footage… Of Digimon," Kenta said in between breaths. He took a huge breath before speaking again. "Those kids aren't the bad guys. This video shows them defending the subway!"

"Digimon footage?!" the secretary exclaimed. She didn't say anything else to Kenta. The woman ran off with the DVD.

Kenta waited an hour before walking out. They must have really enjoyed the footage if she never came back. He held his head high as he headed home. On that day, Kenta passed a major milestone. Not only did he manage to do the one thing he was good, but he made his friends lives better. Or so he thought.

* * *

Kazu quietly shut the door behind him. He didn't want to alert anyone to his arrival. His home wasn't very homey anymore. The teen almost made it up the stairs before being caught. Being pulled by his ankles, Kazu was dragged down the stairs. Each stair smacked his chin. One of the stairs busted his lip.

"Don't you dare think you can sneak around me," Makuramon snickered and flipped the boy on his back. The monkey reached into Kazu's pocket and felt the DVD. _Tsk, tsk_, was the noise the Digimon made. "You were supposed to turn that in."

"They already had footage. They didn't need mine," Kazu defended himself. He held his hands up in the air and tried to block Makuramon from his vision. The monkey pinned Kazu's arms down next to him. Kazu continued, "One of them called the tamers a hero."

Makuramon grunted in disgust. He hopped off of Kazu and strided off into the living room. Kazu hurried after the monkey and continued to ramble, "Please, it's not my fault. Someone must have turned in a video of the entire battle. It made them look good. I can't undermine them if someone is retaliating."

Kazu's parents were tied up in chairs in the living room. His mom's face was battered, bloodied, and bruised. Makuramon seemed to like torturing the teen's mother more than the father. Her shrieks were more appealing to his sadistic ear.

"You can't turn in damn footage. Is there anything you do right?" Makuramon whipped around. Kazu felt his blood go cold when the Digimon touched his father's face. The monkey ran a finger around his father's neck. "You should mend your friendship with the tamers. We'll ruin them from the inside out then. They're the only ones in the way of total domination."

"They won't speak to me," Kazu told him. It wasn't a lie, but the truth was that Kazu pushed Kenta and Takato away. They didn't know about the crazy monkey torturing his loved ones, but Makuramon had a strange interest in the tamers. Kazu's only way of protecting them from himself was to push them away.

"Have you located the Digimon I've sought after?" Makuramon growled. His hands tightened around the father's neck. Kazu didn't respond quick enough, so Makuramon snapped the human's neck like a toothpick. "Do you do anything right? It's sad that I find out information quicker than you. The Digimon's name is Calumon. If you don't get him tomorrow, there will be another death on your hands."

Kazu rushed to his dad's aid, but there was nothing to be done. His dad was dead and he couldn't bring him back. In order to protect his parents, Kazu had given up his friends and almost ruined Takato, Henry, and Claire's lives by giving away a video to the news station. And for what? Kazu's dad died anyways. The young teen hugged his mom and cried into her shoulder.

"I'll find Calumon. I'll make sure to keep you safe," Kazu promised his mother.


	16. Chapter 16

"Why do you still long after the humans despite everything?"

Renamon wasn't surprised to hear Impmon's voice. She sensed him coming miles before reaching her. The fox didn't even acknowledge him when he sat next to her on the roof. The imp was a nuisance that she didn't want to deal with.

"Humans do nothing but destroy and hurt not only each other, but Digimon too. Can't you see that?" Impmon kept pushing. He found joy in pushing all of the tamers' buttons earlier, so he continued with Renamon.

"Are you speaking from experience?" she questioned. Renamon felt the air shift along with Impmon's mood. She caught him red handed. "Did he or she leave you or did you leave?"

"I left." Impmon crossed his arms. It wasn't so fun when it was turned around on him. Renamon brought up memories he didn't want to recall. Pulled, worn out, and the constant crying between the siblings. It was all too much. In an attempt to switch the conversation back around, Impmon said, "So I hear you were ditched for not being able to digivolve."

"I don't know where you receive your facts from, but this one is wrong." Renamon didn't elaborate. She turned her attention back to her reasoning for being on the roof in the first place. One of the windows on the apartments across from her had a perfect view into Henry's living room. The Digimon wasn't sure why, but she felt the need to watch over Claire even if she was safe with Henry.

"Ditching your partner for someone else then, huh?" snickered Impmon. When Renamon snapped her head toward him, he knew he finally broke through. He smirked and waited.

"No. I will not give up on Rika. I'm just watching over someone who is willing to help me in saving Rika."

"What's the point in watching over her? That strange hair color kid is with her. She'll be fine," Impmon continued pushing. Though, he had a feeling he knew the answer. The imp felt a strong presence the entire night. Someone was on their way and ready to bio-emerge. It sent chills throughout his body.

"Something is coming. Henry isn't in the best shape for this upcoming battle. Terriermon is already hindered by his one arm, so Henry will hurt their performance even more," admitted Renamon. She wasn't one for lying. The truth had to always be put out there. Plus, it wasn't like Impmon was going to do anything to Henry and Terriermon. Terriermon was still way stronger than Impmon would ever hope to be. Taking a stab back at the imp, she added, "You'd understand the balance between tamer and Digimon if you bothered to stay with your partner."

_Partners_, Impmon wanted to correct the fox. He wasn't sure which of the siblings his true partner was, but he didn't care. They were in the past. The imp grunted, "So whenever this Digimon shows his ugly face, will you enter the battle?"

"I believe I cannot stand by anymore. I don't think you can either."

Impmon swallowed hard, but didn't show his fear. If Renamon, who never showed any form of emotion, was afraid, it absolutely terrified him. Trying to sound confident, he responded, "I'll just find a way to digivolve. Then this Digimon wouldn't stand a chance."

Renamon knew the two of them wouldn't be able to digivolve without their partners. There was no way possible that she could think of. That was the original reason she picked Rika as a partner. The fox believed that that was the human's sole person. The Digimon would be able to digivolve and the tamer would have bragging rights. Little did she know that she and Rika would form a bond. It wasn't always shown, but Renamon felt it when they battled. Near the end of their partnership, Rika had been consumed with digivolving Renamon. It put a dent in their relationship, but Renamon knew it would be fixed. All she wanted now was to show Rika how strong she could be. Their friendship made her strong.

"Hey, toots! Are you even listening?" Impmon demanded an answer. Renamon replied with a simple answer that shut him up for the rest of the night.

"No."

* * *

"Henry's never brought a girl home before!" his mother said as she placed spaghetti in front of Claire. Janyu wanted her to pick up a meal, but when he mentioned Claire, she insisted on cooking. "In fact, he never brings anyone over."

Henry rolled his eyes. She made it sound like he had no friends. He had friends over the years, but he was more of a loner. It wasn't personal to anyone, for he just liked his alone time at home. The teen grumbled a thank you to his mother when she scooped spaghetti on his plate.

Suzie, who was ten, held Terriermon in her arms. Even though she knew he was living and breathing, she still squeezed him like a stuffed animal. Terriermon wanted to struggle, but Henry wouldn't be happy with him. Their parents wouldn't be too happy either. In order to be accepted in the family, he had to fake that he was okay with being choked. When food was placed on Suzie and Terriermon's plates, Suzie finally let go. The Digimon huffed and sat in his own seat.

"Henry," Suzie started. She was all smiles when she looked at her brother. Even though her question wasn't at all happy, she asked it in the most cheerful way. "Why does your foot look funny?"

"I was…" Henry stared down at his wrapped up foot. He could be honest, but it would scare both his mother and sister. His dad was cool about it, but his mother wouldn't allow him to keep Terriermon. Suzie would probably start crying. He sighed and lied, "I just hurt myself. It's okay now."

"If you call a chance at infection 'okay,' then you're perfectly fine!" exclaimed Terriermon with a hint of humor in his voice. Henry pushed the Digimon off of his chair. Terriermon climbed back up into the seat.

"Shut up," Henry whispered into Terriermon's ear. Terriermon ducked his head, but Henry didn't feel bad. The Digimon should realize what was appropriate and what was not. His words normally wouldn't bother him that much, but Terriermon could have freaked out his family.

"Be nice to him! Terriermon didn't do anything," said Suzie. She pulled Terriermon close to her and hugged tightly. Terriermon was truly accidentally being choked and fought against Suzie's tight grip. The Digimon tried not to hurt her, but he was ready to bite to free himself.

"Stop it you two!" Henry tried to mediate and pulled Suzie's arms off of Terriermon. His partner moved seats next to Claire, so Suzie couldn't grab at him again. Suzie began to cry. Her brother groaned, "You can play with him later! Just not while we're eating!"

Claire saw the frustration radiating off of Henry's face. He had been through so much in one day, so all she wanted was for him to be happy. His crying sister was making it all worse. Under the table, she shyly placed her hand on top of his because she recalled how it calmed him earlier. Not looking his direction, she began eating spaghetti with her free hand. The blonde told Suzie, "Hey, Suzie. Later I can show you how to play the Digimon card game. Then you'd be on the same level as me: a tamer with no Digimon."

"Really?!" Suzie exclaimed in excitement. She wiped her tears off her face. Henry refused to teach her every time she asked. The young girl was excited that someone would finally allow her to do something cool.

The touch of Claire's hand caused Henry's face to burn red. A sigh escaped him, releasing all ill feelings. All he could think about was the warmth of her hand. He tried to play it cool by also eating, but it was obvious something was off.

"You're all red and sweaty," laughed Suzie.

That made it worse. He didn't know his face could feel that hot in a natural setting. It was the most bothersome feeling and it bothered him that Claire's hand could send him into such a state. Henry always had girl friends, but he never liked a girl enough to call them his _girlfriend_. The idea of a relationship wasn't something appealing to him. There was too much regret and heartache if something went wrong. Plus, the boy always had more important things in his life that came first. Family, schoolwork, sports(He _used_ to swim. Recently, he had missed all the practices so there was no doubt he was off the team), and Terriermon whenever he first appeared, and now Claire made the list. _Why, _he thought, _am I allowing this to happen?_

"So what is your name, dear?" Henry's mom asked, breaking his thoughts. She saw how embarrassed her son had become. Maybe a conversation change would help fix that. "Do you go to the same school? How did you two meet?"

"This became an interrogation," Terriermon snickered under his breath. Henry agreed that that was a lot of questions, but glared at his partner. Terriermon shrugged with his one arm and added, "Well, it's true."

"I'm Claire McCoy. We do go to school together and met through a mutual friend," responded Claire. That was as honest as she could be without going into too many details. It was hard to believe that they only truly met days ago. It felt like lifetimes since she first witnessed the battle between Gargomon and Renamon.

"McCoy?" Janyu asked with a mouth full of food. He swallowed most of it and chewed what was left. McCoy was a name he had not heard for some time. It brought up memories from the Monster Makers days. Not expecting the connection to be real, he continued, "Are you related to Rob McCoy?"

Claire was surprised that Janyu would know her grandfather's name. She put her fork down. Janyu appeared to be reminiscing, so the two must have a past. The girl wished she had stories of her grandfather to tell him, but she knew nothing about him. Not quite sure what to say, she said, "Yeah, he's my grandfather… I've only met him once or twice. My dad doesn't really let us have contact with other family members."

"Oh, that's a shame. He's an awesome gentleman."

"Your dad sounds like a jerk," Suzie jumped in. She didn't really mean anything by it, but she wasn't aware how much of an impact her words truly had. If she knew, she wouldn't have said anything. "I love my family too much to give them up."

She never flat out told him, but Henry knew that Claire's dad was abusive. When they first met, she had a black eye. Claire wasn't afraid to be hurt, for it was pain she had already felt before. Takato was someone that made her feel safe over the years, so she was super attached. The signs were all there to let him know she was abused. He slowly moved his hand out from under hers and truly held her hand to let her know he was there.

Suzie was still chattering about family, but Claire tuned her out. She didn't want to think about the times when her father would smack her senseless. She didn't want to think about the times she would take an extra beating to protect her sister. She didn't want to think about showing up at Takato's house because she had nowhere else to go. Her life was like that for longer than she could remember. Being so caught up in memories, she hadn't realized Henry was holding her hand until a gentle squeeze saved her from her downward spiral of emotion.

"Suzie, cut it out," warned her brother. Suzie didn't realize when enough was enough. His sister was always annoying, but he was able to deal with it. That night, she was pushing it. Suzie crossed her arms and crinkled her nose.

"No, she's fine." Claire shrugged and put her mind on funnier things to cheer herself up. What Suzie said was already in the past. Feeling like messing with him, she smiled and crinkled her nose like Suzie. Henry had all right to be grumpy and annoyed, but she didn't like to see him that way. "Need me to remove that stick from your butt, Henry?"

Janyu choked on his drink from laughing. He wiped his mouth, continuing to laugh. The dad added on, "Please do. He naturally wears a frown all the time."

"I smile just fine!" Henry defended himself. He forced a smile on his face, but his attempt was a huge failure. The smile caused a laughing fit from the entire table. He even found humor in it himself.

"I think you just shot yourself in the foot, man," Terriermon laughed. Realizing his terrible, accidental pun, the Digimon held his hand up in defense. Henry actually found humor in the sadistic pun, so Terriermon let go of the breath he was holding. The Digimon mumbled to himself, "Momentai."

Henry awoke on the couch around two in the morning. The night went way faster than he expected. He and Claire explained the card game to Suzie, who took only a few hours to understand modify cards. It was an aggravating process, but Suzie learned. She wouldn't bug him about it anymore.

Not being able to sleep, he wanted to hobble around the house a bit and maybe sit out on by the community pool, which had an amazing view of the stars. It was a peaceful place and great for thoughts. He had a gut feeling that the past few hours of bliss wouldn't last must longer. It was best to enjoy the calm while it lasted.

When he started to roll off of the couch, he almost brought down his foot on Claire's knee. Henry was sleeping on the couch because he had given up his own bed for her. The blonde had brought pillows from his bed and made a mini bed out of them. She was wrapped in the blanket his mother made him when he was young. Terriermon, who was also sleeping, was curled up on top of her stomach.

Henry smiled, lying back down on the couch. He watched Claire breathe slowly in her sleep. It was a strange sense of peace, for the girl appeared happier asleep than awake. The tamer wondered if her peace was brought on by her father also. Dreaming was her only escape from all the terrors she had faced. Wishing to comfort her, he lightly ran a finger across her cheek.

"I wish I could take your sorrow away," Henry whispered, meaning every word. He traced her slightly red bruises on her neck. Sadness consumed him at the thought of her dad choking or beating her.

"You should tell her."

Henry jumped at the sound of Terriermon's voice. The Digimon, not wanting to wake Claire, carefully climbed up on Henry's stomach, like he had with Claire. The bunny curled up again, but kept his face toward his tamer. The teen wasn't sure what Terriermon was hinting at. Patting Terriermon on the head, he sighed, "And what exactly should I say?"

"If you tell her, you truly won't be alone anymore."

"Nahhhh," Henry responded. He pulled his blanket to cover his arms and shoulders as he spoke. Henry shut his eyes to avoid Terriermon's stare. "There's nothing to tell."

"You're full of shit," Terriermon grunted a bit loud. The bunny stayed silent a few minutes to confirm he didn't wake anybody. The one emotion Henry was upfront about was his sense of protection—his tamer was quick to defend his friends, Terriermon, and his family. Henry had taught his Digimon many things during their time together, but it was Terriermon's turn to teach him something. "I know I'm too open and always say what I feel. That can be an issue, but at least I openly admit things. Henry, you don't like to express yourself. You don't think anyone can see how you feel in situations. I've spent enough time with you to be able to read you like an open book. If you don't tell her soon, you might not ever get the chance to."

Terriermon was rewarded with silence, as he expected. It was Henry's steady breathing that let him know the real reason why. The bunny sighed, wishing his words weren't said in vain. The last part of what he said put a bit of fear in his heart. He felt that this sense of calm was ending, and he knew Henry felt it too. The Digimon sighed again, wishing everything was back to the way it was before. His dreams were filled of his bio-emergence and how much fun he and his tamer had those first few months together.

* * *

"So Guilmon is a drawing?" his father asked, not sure what to think about that. His eyebrow was raised, waiting for a better response.

"Uh, yeah. I made him up and…" his voice trailed off. Takato felt stupider and stupider every time he explained it. His back story to Guilmon was ridiculous, but still true. "I wished him to be real. I swiped a special blue card and bam. There he was. We've been a unit ever since."

"I don't like the way you said unit. It makes it sound like he's a part of you!" Takato's mom shouted. She was the farthest away from Guilmon that she could be without leaving the table. The mother never allowed Takato to have pets before and he just waltzed in with a _dinosaur_.

"Well, we're partners! We feel the same like we're one body," Guilmon told Takato's mother with a smile. Takato elbowed Guilmon in the side as a warning not to speak during the current moment. Guilmon turned to his tamer, "But Takatomon, I like talking to your parents."

"Not now," Takato said quickly.

"So… Do any of your other friends have Digimon?" his father asked him. Takato was glad that his dad changed the topic, but his dad honestly wanted to know. He was excited for his son. It was an adventure that hardly anyone else would ever experience.

"Just Henry, but… You haven't met him. Claire and Kenta hang out with us a lot and our friend Jeri comes around too."

"Henry is the one in the video with the pants bunny, right?" he asked for clarification. Takato at first wasn't sure what he father was talking about, but then realized what he meant. Whenever Terriermon digivoled to Gargomon, the Digimon suddenly had pants. He was perplexed by the concept, but he nodded at his father's question.

"How long did you lie to us about this, again?" His mom's question was vile. The hatred weighed heavy. This was why he decided to tell them himself before other people did for him. It would have been worse if they figured out themselves that he was truly the one in the news video.

"Since my birthday. So almost a week," he sighed. It was weird to think that little amount of time had passed. Time was flying by, but at the same time, he felt like he's aged in many different ways since his birthday. He took situations more seriously and attempted to not be too dreamy and wishful. Guilmon was a constant reminder to him that having your head in the clouds wasn't always a bad thing.

"Should I buy a doggie bed for Guilmon next time I head to the store? That could be the perfect sized bed for him," his father laughed.

"Wait? Really? He can stay?" Takato questioned with excitement in his voice. He thought for sure Guilmon would be staying his nights at the hideout again. The tamer hated the idea of not being with his partner after the past few days.

"He most certainly will not! I will not have dinosaur running around setting things on fire!" his mom interjected. She slammed her fist on the table to emphasis how strongly she felt about that. That dinosaur put her son in danger. The mother could recall how scared Claire sounded in the news video. Whatever they all had done, it could have killed her baby boy.

"He's done a pretty great job at protecting Takato so far. I think we should trust him more. He's old enough to make his own decisions," his father backed him up. It made him smile how much faith his dad had in him.

"How about just tonight? If he doesn't act up, we'll talk again," Takato mediated. He hated making that offer, but it seemed like that was what was going to have to happen. His dad happily agreed while his mom was hesitant to say yes. When she did, he hugged both of them and ran upstairs. Takato had said all he could say and now it was up to his parents to talk it over.

"Takato, there's a Digimon coming soon. It's a big one," Guilmon warned. Takato looked out his window as if soon meant that second. Guilmon stood beside him and stared out. "I don't think Henry and Terriermon will be much help. They're both hurt."

"You know they'll still be there battling anyways," Takato said, trying to be somewhat positive. If a Digimon so powerful was on its way, they needed anyone that could battle. Henry, Terriermon, Takato, Guilmon, and hopefully Renamon would make an appearance. Staying on the brighter side of things, he added, "We'll go eat tons of ice cream after."

"Victory cream!" Guilmon exclaimed, all nervousness gone. The two high-fived at the thought.

"Please. Don't do this."

Takato couldn't see what was around him. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place who it was. His mind was in such a state that he couldn't tell what gender it was either. He tried to move toward the voice, but it was no use. Every movement caused parts of his body to tire. All he wanted to do was lie still and sleep.

"Data and flesh. What's the difference in what we kill? In the end, we will rule it all." A different voice. This one was much more aggressive than the first voice. Takato felt powerless and scared. He was empathizing with the original speaker. The weird part about empathizing was that he felt surprised that the first vocalization was heard.

"I can be a valuable asset. Must I show you all that I have done?" A third voice. Takato felt anger toward the third party member. He wished he could see, so he knew who or what he was angry at. Third voice continued, "Look beside me. I can do this to and for whoever you want."

"I want those tamers dead. If we kill anyone, they die first," said a fourth voice. This voice was also familiar to Takato's ear, but again he couldn't identify it.

_I want to see!_ Takato begged. He was well aware of the dream, but he still had no control over it. Whenever he figured out he was dreaming before, the dream would morph to his bidding. The weirdest part was that it felt more real than any fantasy had before.

"Someone is here… Listening," the second voice stated.

Four red eyes materialized in front of him. Suddenly able to move, Takato backed away, farther into darkness. Fire swarmed his feet and slowly made its way up his body. The fire burned him, actually causing pain. He tried patting it out, but the fire would not extinguish. The tamer called out, but his voice never sounded. The flames consumed his entire body.

"I'm sending someone after you, tamer," the owner of the eyes sounded. Takato fell to the ground, unable to fight the flames anymore. The tamer watched his skin melt off of his bones and fall to the ground. He tried to scream, but his voice was still gone. His ultimate fear was now that he would wake up with charred and missing skin. The last thing he heard before he woke up was, "You will burn. All of you will burn."


	17. Chapter 17

Rika clung to IceDevimon for dear life as they flew over the desert plains. If this was the Digital World, she saw why all of the digimon kept trying to bio-emerge. It was hard for her to believe Renamon and Terriermon once lived in such a desolate place. There was no water or homes anywhere in sight. Surely, this wasn't the Digital World.

"Is there something wrong?" IceDevimon asked her without turning his head. The devil kept his head forward to keep an eye out for flying digimon or attacks from below. He wanted to hurry to his destination. If the duo didn't join up soon, they might not be accepted.

"This place…" Rika's voice trailed off when she heard her voice. _She _was the one speaking, not the queen. The tamer gasped at the sound of her own voice. It was unnatural. Rika had almost become used to the fact that she didn't exist. The queen owned her, but in that moment, Rika was somehow rebelling over the queen's grasp.

"Is only the beginning. This is not all there is," finished IceDevimon. The champion digimon was concerned about the queen's sudden doubt. He hovered in place and glanced over his shoulder. IceDevimon's voice was almost like a lullaby as he asked, "You do not trust where I take you?"

Rika felt nonexistent hands grab her shoulders. IceDevimon had reawakened the queen. No, Rika couldn't go back to the sleep state that the queen had her in. It was her body and life, not what IceDevimon tried to make her be. The devil couldn't have her. Not while she was in control of herself.

When she felt the queen begin to suppress her, Rika let go of IceDevimon. She held her arms straight out and fell backwards into the digital sky. The wind whistled through her red hair the faster she plunged. Rika could see IceDevimon dive after her, but his reaction was too late. The tamer would hit the ground before he could reach her.

Rika smacked into the ground. She was motionless and quiet, waiting for death to take her. Death was better than being stuck in her body with another person. But death wasn't coming like she expected. Instead of blacking out immediately, she lied awake. It felt like tiny lightning bolts were spreading through her body as her data expanded and contracted. That wasn't normal. The tamer didn't know a lot of things, but she knew for sure that she was made of skin and bones, not data.

"_You idiot! Look at what you have done to us!_" a voice that wasn't Rika's came out of her mouth. The queen wasn't masking herself behind Rika's voice anymore. Whatever little pact, which Rika wasn't even aware of, that they had was burned away. The queen didn't want to share anymore.

"Melissa, no!" was the last thing Rika heard before passing out.

* * *

"You think that you can just kill us?" grunted a voice.

Rika didn't wake up, but suddenly became aware. Color dripped into the darkness she saw, revealing a simple white room. It was padded cell. The tamer wanted to lay still and sleep, but her roommate had a different idea. She was picked up and thrown against the padded wall.

"You're a piece of shit. We could have shared the host body, you know. But nooooooo! Data and flesh can live together, but you won't allow it!" the girl was the same age, if not older. She was pale and covered in freckles. Her hair was bright orange and spread every direction as if it hadn't been brushed in years. The girl's red eyes were wild as she glanced over Rika. _Data and flesh?_ Rika thought. The girl almost laughed, "Now, I have to crush you. I'm sorry, but we can't both live anymore."

"Who are you?" Rika attempted to question the crazed teen. She tried to stand up, but something snapped against her back. The whiplash stung and bled. The tamer screamed as the girl continued to whip her. Rika swore the girl didn't have a whip before that moment. It materialized in her hands.

"It does not matter who I am. What matters is I will corrupt and destroy you."

Rika made a sad attempt to roll away, but the girl stomped her foot on Rika's side to stop her. She towered over the tamer and laughed again. "Do you really think that you can escape me?"

_Melissa_, Rika recalled IceDevimon dropping that name. The girl's name was Melissa. Trying to reason with the girl before she whipped again, Rika lied, "Melissa, stop. We can work something out."

"Ha! That's what the last host said before we found you!" Melissa turned her back and chuckled. The girl knew that Rika wouldn't live much longer, so it was time to show the tamer what led to her downfall. She waved her hand through the air and their scenery changed. Rika and Melissa floated next to a child in his room. The eleven-year-old boy was pulling at his hair and screaming on the top of his lungs. Melissa chuckled to Rika, "That's Hayden. He was a cute boy, but he didn't like to share."

IceDevimon formed into the picture and knelt down next to Hayden. The digimon placed his icy hands on Hayden's shoulders to hold him still. Hayden struggled, but IceDevimon held strong. He commanded the digimon to let him go, so IceDevimon hesitantly listened. The boy opened his window and stood on the sill.

"What is he doing?" asked Rika. She fazed through his wall and ended up out in the night air. The breeze was warm as it blew both of her and Hayden's hair. Hayden let go of the window. With tears in her eyes, Rika shouted, "No! Don't do it!"

Hayden jumped head first out of his window. Rika tried to catch the child, but he flew straight through her arms. The boy's head exploded on impact with the sidewalk. Blood contaminated the white sidewalk. There was no saving Hayden from his suicide.

"After that, we had to find another host," Melissa started and waved her hand again. The picture of Hayden's death disintegrated as a new one began to take its place. A new boy, age fifteen, appeared and was playing a video game on his computer. Rika gasped when she recognized Henry.

"Why do you need a host?" asked Rika as she watched Henry's scene unfold before her. She already knew Henry wasn't chosen, but she still needed questions answered. Rika spotted a red line around Melissa's neck. _Another suicide?_ she wondered.

"In order to stay alive, I need a host," Melissa answered, as if it should be something everyone knew. She scratched at her neck and laughed when she caught the double meaning of Rika's question. "Ohhhh, ha! You think I'm dead, don't you? Not dead. Very much alive! That's another story. I'm telling you this one right now."

Henry suddenly placed his hands on the computer screen. The boy had tears in his eyes as a computerized Terriermon was shot by a random digimon. He yelled at the digimon to stop, but there was no way a made up character would ever hear him. Scared for Terriermon's sake, Henry uttered, "What have I done to you? It's just a game… But you look so hurt."

Henry spotted a blue card amongst his digimon cards. Willing to try anything to save the bunny, he swiped the blue card through his card scanner. The teen went from a simple loner to a tamer with a forever partner. The card scanner morphed into a white D-Power with a green rim. Rika didn't witness the forming of her own D-Power, so it was interesting to witness Henry's. Terriermon was then pulled out of the game and landed in Henry's lap.

"Henry was so upset about Terriermon, but when the digimon bio-emerged, Henry was no longer the ball of sadness that he was. It was an unfortunate event, but he was still my number one pick as a host. I wanted to wait out his happiness, but IceDevimon said it might take too long," Melissa groaned and rolled her eyes. After a minute, Melissa shrugged and waved her hand.

Henry and Terriermon's image caught fire and burned away. Rika reached her hand out to him, but his image burned away too quickly. Her body was heavy and she felt herself falling into the next scene. Melissa fell with her, but the crazed girl laughed and howled the whole down. Landing in a tree, Rika pushed the branches aside to watch the next scene Melissa was willing to show her.

It was the battle between Renamon and Gargomon. Rika reached for Renamon, but her hand went straight through the digimon. It was only a memory of Melissa after all. She couldn't touch anything. With heartbreak in her voice, "Oh no, Renamon…"

Melissa snapped her fingers, which forced Rika's head to snap toward her. Rika couldn't turn her head away from the demonic tamer. The girl smirked, enjoying how much power she had in the dream world. "I believe you remember this."

"Yes…"

"At this point, we were still following Henry. We wanted to know if he was worth the risk of hosting. Henry didn't have... The right qualifications to make it easy anymore," she started. She pointed toward Gargomon as he began to blast all different directions. "Plus, we knew if Gargomon could control himself that he would be a problem. Besides, you also looked similar to the form I take. Actually, not really. We're both just gingers. Also, I wanted to share your title of Digimon Queen. It rings a nice bell. Anyways, we both know what happens next. IceDevimon says shit to catch your attention then poof! There I am! Moving on."

The scene changed to the fight with the tiger. Rika was in control of her body in that memory when IceDevimon grabbed Henry. Upon her revealing that IceDevimon could possess people with Melissa's spirit, Gargomon saved his tamer from the devil's grasp. Turning her attention to Melissa, Rika asked, "Why switch to Henry after you already had a host?"

"Your spirit is a fighter. That's why we're here!" groaned Melissa and rolled her eyes. Rika had interrupted her story! The whip formed in her hand again, but burst into data moments later. Melissa calmed herself down. She would have to teach Rika that lesson later. "You didn't want to share. It was better to chance Henry than stay in you. But you ruined that too."

The scene began to shake. How was there more to show other than that? Melissa had already caught Rika up to the current moment. Rika felt chills run down her spin as the shakes became a full on earthquake. She turned to Melissa, but the girl was as frustrated as Rika. The crazed queen screamed, "Damn you, IceDevimon! I'm not done here!"

* * *

Rika gasped as she woke up from the dream, but her voice never sounded. It was back to not being in control. Melissa moved their body up and out of the bed. They pushed a curtain aside from the window. The duo couldn't locate where they were, but their eyes scanned a bridge that led to a giant arch. A brown bunny was standing guard by the arch to protect those inside behind it.

_Where are we?_ Rika thought. She half expected an answer from Melissa, but she wasn't told an answer. Maybe they couldn't hear each other when they were like this. Maybe their only form of contact was when they slept. Rika recalled how she felt in the past about sleeping. Melissa would have complete control if Rika slept. Would Rika have the same power if Melissa decided to sleep? Did Melissa even need sleep?

"Somehow alive," Melissa laughed aloud in a mixture of her own voice and Rika's.

Rika felt like she was still whipped. Her spirit was weaker from the contact between her and Melissa. The tamer thought over how much power Melissa had in the dream. It was a dream, after all, so maybe the power was all made up. _I could have that much power, too, _Rika realized. She clinched her fists, ready for the next time they slept.

They walked out of their dark room. The room was placed in a hallway with a flight of stairs leading down. It appeared to be the only room in the entire lair. The duo reached the end of the stairs and was greeted by a conversation between two digimon.

"How do we know we can trust that human?" a fiery bird questioned IceDevimon. The bird was the biggest digimon Rika had ever seen one ever compare to the bird. She wasn't scared of the digimon, though. The girl had other problems are on her mind.

"Because," Melissa and Rika's voice cut through. Rika covered her mouth to make sure it wasn't really her speaking. Melissa was still using both voices. It was creepy, but comforting to Rika. As long as her own voice was still heard, it meant Melissa didn't have full control. Melissa continued, "I'm a virus created by humans as a war weapon. I would possess computers and find every bit of information. Then I'd pull the switch on said computer. Some bastard thought it would be a brilliant idea to figure out how to humanize me. I could possess humans and find out information for them. Then poof! Dead host. It was brilliant… Not for them anyways. But there is an enemy after me as there is you. I want your assistance in that battle and in return, I'll offer you mine. I can only destroy humans and data. This is not of either."

Zhuqiaomon chuckled at Melissa's story. With one step, the bird was in front of Melissa and Rika. Not wanting to mention the "True Enemy," Zhuqiaomon changed the topic. No one needed to know one of the most powerful digimon was afraid. He lowered his head and spoke, "So you are the famous Project MEL. Why would you choose to possess a child and not someone of more importance?"

"Simple," Melissa laughed. "Children are easier to control. They're more open-minded. All it takes is a kid grieving or kid so mean spirited and full of hatred. Like Rika here, she was so set on being the best that she didn't care who she hurt in the process. Left her mind wide open for a virus. We're one and the same."

_No, I'm not like that_… Rika thought and begged not to be true. To her dismay, it was. She wanted Renamon to digivolve so bad that she didn't care if they attacked people or not. The tamer had Renamon slap Claire. It was such an unnecessary action. Rika did this to herself and might be the cause of the end of the human world.

"I can kill my host and find another if this body if it does not please you," Melissa suddenly said. Rika's spirit felt a hand grip around her neck. The virus was ready to kill her in that moment.

"No, that form is fine. I request you destroy the host whenever we take over the human world though."

"So, the plan is what exactly?" IceDevimon asked the sovereign.

"First, we will take out the 'true enemy.' Then we take out any digimon and human in our way of complete control of it all."

"This is beginning to sound like a clash of the worlds. I call infecting the humans," chuckled Melissa.

_Please. Don't do this_. Rika thought. Her thoughts didn't echo in her mind like it normally did. Rika felt another presense near her. What was that?

"Data and flesh. What's the difference in what we kill? In the end, we will rule it all." There was that phrase again. Data and flesh. The sovereign also appeared to only be talking to Rika and Melissa. The devil didn't like that he was being pushed aside.

"I can be a valuable asset. Must I show you all that I have done? Look beside me. I can do this to and for whoever you want." IceDevimon pointed to Rika. He helped Melissa find a host body and he can continue to do so.

"I want those tamers dead. If we kill anyone, they die first," spat Melissa. Over the little bit of time she knew them, all the tamers had done was be a nuisance. Interrupting battles and sticking their noses where they don't belong. Melissa couldn't wait to either burst them into data in the Digital World or melt their brains in the human world.

"Someone is here… Listening," Zhuqiaomon suddenly warned. His eyes suddenly glowed, but he didn't move. Without moving and eyes still glowing, the bird told the two, "Don't worry. I've sent an order to kill the tamers to a special Deva."

Whatever presence was with Rika was now gone. She felt alone inside herself again.


	18. Chapter 18

The smell of chocolate chip pancakes woke him up. A noise of satisfaction escaped him as he rolled onto his back. A plate was set on his stomach before he even opened his eyes. Henry sighed, "Thanks, Mom."

"You can thank me all you want, but I didn't make it," he heard his mom say in another room.

"I helped, but you don't hear him giving me a thank you," laughed Terriermon.

Henry's eyes fluttered open in time for to see Claire hand him a fork. Terriermon trailed behind her, covered in pancake mix. He accepted the fork and began to eat. The pancakes were better than he expected. Curious and with a mouthful of food, he asked, "Then who made them?"

"You're almost as dense as Takato sometimes," Claire chucked and sat on the floor next to the couch. She had already eaten. Terriermon crawled in her lap, causing her pants to become dirty. Claire patted his head, but dusting of the mix spread through the air. The two coughed and Claire forced out, "I'm going to give you bath."

"That's worse than being Princess Pretty Pants!" Terriermon said in horror. He never thought he'd ever say he'd prefer something Suzie related over anything. The two humans laughed at the digimon's reaction.

"Oh," Claire started, suddenly remembering. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a plastic baggy with cards in it. Tossing it on his face, she continued, "Someone put these in your mailbox yesterday. Your dad forgot about them and told me to give it to you when you woke up."

Henry opened the bag and flipped through the cards. All of the cards he already had except for a few. Out of the new ones, there was only one he didn't recognize. He wasn't even sure if it was a real card. Showing it to Claire, she shrugged at the sight of it. She didn't know what it was either. The blonde said, "Give it swipe. Let's see what it does."

"In the middle of the apartment?" Henry questioned and raised an eyebrow. And she called _him _dense. Claire shrugged again like it wasn't a big deal. After taking another bite of pancakes, he added, "What if it explodes?"

"Yeah, the card that is going to modify _Terriermon_ is going to blow up your home."

"It's morning, alright?" he defended himself. Annoyed, he stabbed at the remaining pancake. He didn't like being out smarted. Especially by her. Deciding he was done eating, he placed the plate back into his lap. Henry patted his pockets, but didn't feel his D-Power. Glancing under his blanket and pillows, the digivice wasn't anywhere to be seen. He grumbled under his breath, "Where the hell did I put that thing?"

Claire handed him his D-Power, adding to his irritation. Henry didn't remember leaving his digivice lying around, but he apparently had. When had he set it down the night before? Also, he felt like his mind couldn't focus for long on one thing before thinking about… The tamer shook his head and snatched his D-Power out of her hand.

"You're welcome…" Claire sighed sarcastically. She picked the plate up out of his lap to clean up after him. The remaining pancake was tossed at Terriermon, who graciously accepted the extra food. Claire turned on the sink and began to wash the dish. The girl called out of the rush of water, "You know, Suzie found it first. She was playing with it and mashing buttons. I took it from her before she could possibly break it."

"Dude, momentai," Terriermon attempted to reach out to his tamer. The digimon tossed the remainder of the pancake like a Frisbee onto Henry's face. The bunny snickered and rolled onto his back from laughing. Henry threw the pancake back at Terriermon before hopping off of the couch. Terriermon rolled away from the pancake, but directly into his tamer's arms. He tickled his bunny, who emitted giggles as the tickles increased. The rookie digimon managed to shoot a very tiny green bubble at Henry. The bubble exploded on his hands, not causing any damage but allowed Terriermon to slip free. Laughter continued to flow from Terriermon as the digimon climbed up onto Claire's shoulder. Terriermon exclaimed with humor in his tone, "Help, Henry's gone crazy!"

It had been awhile since Henry was able to let loose with Terriermon. The past week had them constantly battling or injured. It made Henry be more stressed than he could ever imagine being. There was constant worry and fear that one of the two would be hurt. Then Claire came into the picture and he worried about her, too. As much as he hated having another being to worry about, he couldn't imagine life any other way. Terriermon's words from earlier that morning clicked in his head and he realized Terriermon currently was trying to set him up. The smirk on the bunny's face confirmed it. Blushing and not quite ready to have that conversation yet, Henry cleared his throat and said, "Sorry. How about we try swiping that card now?"

"I didn't know the super serious boy was able to have fun," Claire joked with him as they walked back into the living room. Well, she walked and Henry limped. It was a different Henry than she had seen the entire week. The friendship between the tamer and his digimon was stronger than she realized. _It's cute_, she thought. Her face changed from pale to blood red in a half second, but Henry didn't see. She was thankful for that. Trying to forget, she placed Terriermon onto the ground and spoke, "Alright, swipe it."

Henry attempted to swipe the card, but it wouldn't go any farther than the corner. Fearing it was stuck, he yanked the card out of the D-Power. He compared the card size to the others, but it wasn't any bigger. Assuming he just didn't swipe it right, he went for a second try. The card was stuck at the corner again. Right before their eyes, the card morphed into a shiny, blue card. Henry held the blue card in his hand and stared at it like it was a thousand dollar bill.

"What is that?" questioned Claire, as she too looked over the blue card. She ran her finger over it and commented how smooth it felt.

"It's…" Henry couldn't finish his sentence. That card was so many things. A blue digimon card was what brought Terriermon to him. It was the same card that he saw Takato swipe to evolve Growlmon. Or, at least, he thought so. Henry couldn't confirm it because everything moved so fast in that moment.

"Hey, I remember that card!" Terriermon shouted when he saw the card. The digimon continually hopped up and down to have a gander at the card. Sounding slightly out of breath, the bunny said, "You used that card to pull me out of the Digital World!"

"Whoa, if it allowed Terriermon into the Digital World, would it send him back if you used it again?" Claire thought aloud. Terriermon stopped jumping and stood still. Henry slowly turned his head toward her and was completely aghast. She quickly covered up, "It probably wouldn't though. I mean, I don't see why it would."

"Henry… Don't use that card." Terriermon actually sounded sad and fearful. It was uncharacteristic of the bunny, but Henry felt the same way. What if that was the purpose of the card? They had no proof. Takato was the only person he could ask, but Henry no longer had a phone.

"Claire." Renamon appeared in Henry's living room. Claire was almost used to the digimon showing up whenever the fox had something to say. Not showing her surprise, she turned her attention toward the digimon. "There are two digimon bio-emerging in the city."

"Two?" questioned Henry. He picked up the baggie of cards and slipped them, including the blue card, into his pockets. "How strong?"

"Two ultimate levels."

"Are you leaving?" Henry's mom asked as she stepped out of the master bedroom. She was wrapped in a towel, giving the appearance of just stepping out of the shower. The mother kissed her son on his forehead before hugging him. "You be safe. I love you."

"I… Love you too, Mom," was his response. Henry couldn't believe how okay his mom was him running off and fighting monsters. He gave her a reassuring smile to comfort her, but he wasn't sure how well the battle would go. Two ultimate levels versus him and Takato.

"Momentai, Mrs. Wong. I won't let anything happen to him," Terriermon shouted as he climbed up onto Claire. Renamon picked up Henry since he couldn't move too fast. The digimon glanced at Claire then back to his tamer's mom. "_We _won't let anything happen to him."

The group of four headed toward the city. Claire pulled out her phone and dialed Takato's number. When he picked up, she could hear how out of breath he was. He tried to say something, but he was so exhausted that Claire couldn't understand him. She decided to say something first, "Hey, there are two bio-emerging in the city. You on your way?"

"In the city?" Takato was understandable, but still breathy. He sounded awfully confused and was silent a second. She could imagine her best friend scratching his head. After taking a couple of breaths, the tamer finally said, "But Guilmon is run—"

A scream cut off the two's connection. Claire dropped the phone to cover her ears and fell to her knees. Realizing Terriermon was suffering from the noise more, Claire cover the bunny's ears instead of her own. Terriermon could only cover one of his own ears. Renamon dropped Henry and also fell to her knees. It was enough to pause all four of them in their tracks.

Electronics all around them went haywire, including Henry's D-Power. The digivice kept blinking and attempting to produce an image. There was a decrescendo in the scream, allowing the D-Power to calm down. Henry pointed it in the direction the scream came from and an image was produced. He read, "Pajiramon, ultimate level. Nasty little sheep has quite the voice."

The Deva made an entrance by busting into an electronic store. The team could see the sheep munching on CD's in the store. Terriermon braced himself to run after the ultimate, but Renamon stopped him. The fox pointed into the distance at an ox. There were two digimon.

"Vajramon, another ultimate. I never really cared for beef, so let's roast him," said Henry, reading off the D-Power. Claire face palmed and Henry twisted his head toward her. The girl was shaking her head at him and he didn't understand. He questioned, "What?"

"That was so dumb! Did that sound better in your head?" she groaned and rolled her eyes. Embarrassed, Henry shrugged and scratched the back of his head. Continuing to pick on him, Claire smirked and chuckled, "Remind me never to hire you as a comedian."

"Is now really the time for jokes?" inquired Renamon.

"You can have the veal, I have a preference for lamb chops," Terriermon told Renamon, adding onto what Henry said. It was a small attempt at making Henry's joke sound better. The bunny ran after Pajiramon.

Calumon jumped onto Henry's face just as Terriermon launched an attack at Pajiramon. Henry threw the tiny digimon to the ground in time to see Terriermon tossed away like a rag doll. The tamer dug into his pockets for cards, but only had the ones that were in the plastic baggie. His blood ran cold, realizing how unprepared he was. In a panic, he swiped the first card he saw in the bag. "Digi-modify! Thor's Hammer activate!"

An enormous hammer formed in Terriermon's one arm. Not being able to carry such weight under one arm, Terriermon fell backwards with the hammer. The heavy battle item fell onto one of his ears, pinning him down. The bunny screamed at his tamer, "What the hell was that supposed to do, Henry?!"

"Why is Henry always so angry?" questioned Calumon as he flipped through the air. He latched onto Claire's shoulder and held tight. Claire also wanted to throw the small digimon, but Calumon hadn't done anything. He just needed to learn when to be serious.

"There's no time for play now. Henry, Terriermon, and Renamon need to focus, okay?" Claire attempted to explain. Calumon huffed but nodded. "Maybe they'll want to play after."

Renamon flipped over the ox when he slashed at her with an axe. She shot out her diamond storm attack, but Vajramon deflected with his axe by spinning it in a circle. The fox tried again, but the ox only laughed. Vajramon chuckled, "You smell of humans. Don't digimon like you claim to be strong because of humans?"

"I am where I am today because of my tamer. I can only become stronger," Renamon responded and used diamond storm again. Vajramon spun the axe faster, which the diamonds ricocheted off of. Some of the diamonds grazed Renamon, but none hit her straight on.

"Are you playing around over there? Just finish the job already," Pajiramon called out to her partner Deva. The sheep picked up the hammer off of Terriermon and threw it to the side. Pajiramon snatched up Terriermon before the bunny even had a chance to move. She held the digimon close to her face. "So, you are also a traitor digimon. I have orders to absorb your data. It is of high honor to be absorbed by me. What is your name, traitor?"

"Michael Hunt, but my friends call me Mike," Terriermon answered quickly. Pajiramon repeated the name in confusion. The bunny snickered before shooting a bunny blast into the sheep's face. Annoyed, Pajiramon flung Terriermon into the air and aimed a cross bow at him.

"I didn't teach him that," Henry said the moment Terriermon spoke. Claire raised an eyebrow, not believing him. After Terriermon was thrown, Henry shuffled through all his cards. Where was a damn digivolution card when he needed one? He shouted, "Terriermon!"

Calumon felt the need to help, but wasn't quite sure what he could do. He was tiny and didn't have any battle moves that he could think of. The digimon sympathized with Terriermon. Calumon may not care for Henry after being tossed around, but Terriermon was being battered and beaten. The symbol on his forehead lit up and then dimmed out. Not sure what that even did, Calumon retracted his ears.

The digimon fell from the sky a much bigger bunny than before. Gargomon punched Pajiramon in the face, which caused the sheep to stagger back. He let out a spray of bullets as he landed on the ground. The champion level digimon constantly dodged out of scope of the crossbow and continued to shoot. He wasn't very fast, but the flashes of tiny green bullets toward a digimon's face might cause them to lose focus of their target.

"Enough!" Pajiramon shouted and slammed her hooves into the ground. The land shook beneath the team, knocking Gargomon off of balance. Pajiramon shot arrows into Gargomon's pants, pinning hit back to the ground. The sheep hissed, "I should have left the hammer on you."

"The hammer…" Claire glanced and spun around to find the hammer Henry had spawned. The hammer wasn't too far behind Renamon. In hopes that the fox would listen, Claire shouted, "Renamon, seven o'clock!"

The fox turned that direction and reached for the hammer. She brought the hammer down with as much force she could muster. The hammer smacked into Vajramon's hoof. The ox screamed as the hoof was crushed. Angry, he smacked Renamon hard enough to send her flying into the next building. He growled, "You think you can mess with me? You're just a harmless rookie that can't even digivolve."

"Digi-modify! Stone armor activate!" Henry irresponsibly swiped another card. Gargomon's flesh morphed into stone just in time for Pajiramon to stomp down. Tiny pieces of stone began to break away off of Gargomon. Henry watched in horror, helpless toward his partner. "He's going to die! We shouldn't have entered this battle!"

Claire tried to read over Henry's cards over his shoulder. He had nothing that could be useful in any situation, so she couldn't believe he would bring those. It was pure carelessness. The girl could only see one solution to Henry's problem. She sighed, "The blue card. It's his only chance."

"I can't use that! What if… What if it sends him back like you said?" Henry couldn't take his eyes off of Gargomon. The digimon was being absolutely destroyed and it was Henry's fault for being stupid. He couldn't focus and was irresponsible.

"Would you rather Gargomon be alive in the Digital World or _dead_? We don't know what that blue card does, but every possible outcome will be better than death." She placed her hands over his. Claire slowly moved his hand with the blue card and swiped it through the D-Power. Henry was fearful, but nodded permission right before she swiped. The D-Power lit up and shot a beam of white light in the air the disappeared moments later.

"It didn't do anything!" Henry shouted and threw the card to the ground. He wanted to say something to Claire, but the girl was gone. His eyes darted around, desperate to find her. Even if he did find her, what good was he? Henry couldn't run after her because of his foot. The tamer spotted her and relief spread through him. Until he realized what she was doing.

Claire was running toward Pajiramon with a shard of glass in her hand. The girl wasn't strong, but she jabbed the glass as far as she could into Pajiramon's leg. Calumon helped Claire push the glass farther into the digimon. It didn't do much, but it was enough to bother the Deva. Pajiramon growled and aimed the crossbow at the two.

"No!" Henry shouted.

Almost perfectly in sync with his yell, Calumon shot red light out of his forehead. Everything around them stopped to watch what that would do. Seconds passed, but Calumon only slumped to the ground. Claire picked up the digimon and backed away from Pajiramon. Calumon apologized, "I'm sorry… I thought I could help."

"You will die trying," Pajiramon laughed and re-aimed the crossbow. All it would take was one movement and the bow would fire. Claire held onto Calumon tightly and waited for their fate.

A white beam shot from the sky and landed on Gargomon. The light was so bright that Claire and Henry couldn't see the bunny anymore. When the light passed, Gargomon was no longer laying there. Nothing was there anymore. Defeated, Henry let tears form. He clinched his fists and turned his head away from the sight. "He's gone. We sent him back…"

"And you're supposed to be the smart one? Shit, we're screwed then," he heard a familiar voice laugh. Henry glanced over his shoulder to see an armored bunny carrying Claire and Calumon on his back. The new digimon set the two down next to Henry before floating back into the air. "That blue card digivolved me. Check out the new me!"

"Rapidmon," Claire read off of Henry's D-Power. "Ultimate level. I'm glad he's on our side! Are you reading any of that?"

Henry nodded and wiped the water out of his eyes. The battle wasn't over yet, for the pair was stronger than ever. Rapidmon still only had one arm, but his speed was his greatest asset anyways. He called out to his partner, "Kick ass, Rapidmon!"

Pajiramon tried to aim the crossbow at Rapidmon, but the bunny was too quick. The sheep couldn't focus on one spot before Rapidmon was gone. Done playing games, Rapidmon shot a single missile out of his gun. The ultimate level digimon shouted, "Rapid fire!"

The missile exploded with such force that it sent Pajiramon flying back into the electronics store. The sheep struggled to stand, but that wasn't Rapidmon's concern anymore. Vajramon rammed into Rapidmon, who went spinning in the air. Once he had control again, Rapidmon moved with such speed that the ox also had issues following.

Renamon entered the scene again by kicked the ox in the head. She flipped backwards in the air, dodging an axe swing from Vajramon. The fox led the Deva closer and closer to Pajiramon. When the ox was directly in front of the electronics store, Renamon disappeared into thin air. Before disappearing, Renamon shouted, "Now, Rapidmon!"

"Tri-Beam!" the bunny yelled. He flung his right arm into the air and spread his legs to form a triangle. A green laser in the shape of a triangle shot into the two Deva. Pajiramon burst into data while Vajramon was a bit slower to disperse. When the job was done, Rapidmon lowered himself to the ground.

"They did it!" Claire exclaimed and hugged Henry. The tamer was surprised by the action, but accepted it. What a relief it was that no one died or was severely injured. That was worth celebrating.

Terriermon tugged on his tamer's hand, wanting attention too. They didn't even see him de-digivolve. Henry scooped up his partner and hugged him tight. The bunny smiled and laughed, "You're acting like I died or something."

"Where was Takato during all of this?" Renamon questioned as she appeared again next to Claire. The two teens exchanged a glance, realizing that their friend never showed. Claire reached into her pocket, grabbed her phone, and dialed Takato's number.

"Where the hell were you?!" shouted Claire when Takato answered. That idiot didn't even bother showing his face in the battle! They needed him and he never showed. She was concerned, but more so angry with him. It was unlike him to ditch his friends.

"Where was _I?_ Where were _you? _I needed you two here!" he shot back at her. Takato wasn't quick to anger or show his anger, but it was evident. It sounded like Takato had his own battle he fought while they were battling. Realizing her anger at her friend was unnecessary, she started to apologize. Takato cut her off, "It doesn't matter now. It's over. We need to meet up because the war isn't over. There's someone even bigger coming. Someone we can't face separate."


	19. Chapter 19

Guilmon was curled in a ball next to his bed. The digimon had constantly kept his tamer awake during the night. He was bored. He was hungry. He smelt something funny. He heard something outside. It was an endless cycle. It annoyed Takato that Guilmon would sleep so soundly when it was morning, but he couldn't be too upset.

There was one moment when Guilmon waking him up was fine. Takato had been screaming in his sleep. Out of fear, Guilmon shook Takato until he was aware that he was back in his own room. The tamer felt angry at first, but then hugged his digimon tightly as he recalled the dream. If Guilmon hadn't have acted, Takato didn't know what would have happened. He wasn't even sure if he was awake or was even dreaming to begin with.

The tamer didn't sleep after that. A chill was in his bones and he was wide awake after such a dream. Takato was wrapped up in blankets to shield himself from the harsh cold of his room, or whatever was making him so cold. Every time he would tell his mother that it was too cold, she would just laugh at him and remind him it was seventy in his room. She saw how pale her son was and the way he shivered. The mom fulfilled his odd request in fear that he was becoming ill.

All the lights were off and the light of the TV was almost too bright. He had to squint in order to view the news. There was a particular video he was waiting to see. That is, if Kenta actually handed it in. Kenta had texted him that the deed was done, but no sign on the news yet. Takato loved his friend, but Kenta had a reputation of screwing up. It wouldn't be odd if the video was never sent in.

_"You will burn. All of you will burn."_ Those words rang in Takato's head. When he shut his eyes, those red eyes were still a burning image. Takato could almost feel the prickling of the fire on his skin again. He ran his fingers over his arms to make sure flesh was present. Shivering, he wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. The chill was back.

"We have new footage of the children and their digimon," a news anchor said, breaking him away from his thoughts. It was about time. Shouldn't that be headlining news? Before showing the video, the reporter added, "The following video is graphic. If you do not like violence or gore, now is the time to turn the channel."

It was weird watching himself on TV. Takato couldn't even remember the hand and stomp motion the video showed him executing. The tamer looked like the goofball teenager that he was, but Takato's face told a different story. He was in control and Growlmon listened. Growlmon shot his attack at the giant snake. The teen thought about when Guilmon wouldn't listen to him at the beginning of their friendship. The video showed how much of a difference a little bit of time could make.

The video cut over to Gargomon shooting the Deva straight in the face. Takato felt like cheering as he recalled the memory. Gargomon was followed over to his tamer, who was yelling. At that point in the video, a viewer wouldn't have known what happened to Henry. All that could be seen was blood pouring out of his foot. Claire was digging into Henry's foot, but from where Kenta shot the video, no one could see what she was doing. The champion digimon was intimidating and towered over the teens. It almost seemed like Gargomon was about to attack the teens, but Takato knew better. He knelt down next to Henry and smiled. The tamer took a couple of deep breaths before nodding at his partner. Immediately, the video was cut off after Henry sighed, "Momentai."

"It still is not quite certain what all is happening, but it appears the children might be friends with two of the monsters," the news anchor read off of a card. The woman adjusted the way she sat before reading more. "The video shows them defeating another monster, but that doesn't prove their innocence just yet."

Takato let out a loud groan and shut the TV off. People weren't grasping the concept of digimon. They saw the destruction and automatically cast the digital creatures as evil. There was absolutely nothing wrong with digimon. Well, nothing wrong with Guilmon, Terriermon, Renamon, and Calumon. If those four could be good, more have to be somewhere in the digital world. The Deva, IceDevimon, and Devidramon were just a few of the bad.

He checked his phone after realizing he hadn't looked at it in over an hour. Takato received a text from Claire, which was received forty-five minutes beforehand, that read, "Goodmorning to you too! Sleep well?" Tossing the phone onto his bed, he decided not to respond. If he could explain the rough night he had to her, he would explain it all. But he couldn't explain what he didn't know.

Changing his thoughts to a lighter topic, he thought of something else to talk about to his friend. Takato expected Claire to show up last night, but she never showed. He was concerned that she had gone back home instead. The text from her let him know she was alright, but there was no reason for her to return home. Deciding to text her back, he typed up, "Ehhh. Did you go back home? Are you alright?"

"No… Stayed at Henry's." Her response was almost instant. Takato then asked about Henry, but a text was never returned. Their friend must be in rough shape if she had to stay with him. He thought about passing by the Wong apartment, but it was early in the morning. Just because he and Claire happened to be up didn't mean the whole household was. Henry would have to wait until around lunch time.

"Why do I have to be haunted?" he wondered as he lied back down. The blanket was wrapped tighter as he felt the chills spread through again. The brisk air cut through the blanket as if it wasn't even around him. All Takato wanted to do was have a restful sleep, but he forced himself to stay awake. He couldn't dream again. He wouldn't allow himself. The silence began to overtake him, though, causing his eyes to grow heavy.

"Takatomon," Guilmon's voice roused him. Takato groaned to let his partner know he was listening. The tamer almost fell asleep again. Almost. But Guilmon's harsh tone caused him to become alert. The dinosaur warned, "Someone's bio-emerging."

"Is it the digimon you mentioned last night?" Takato questioned and hopped out of bed. He threw his pajamas onto his bed before grabbing khaki shorts and a white shirt. Feeling the cool air more than before, he pulled his blue hoodie over his head. It helped, but the chill was still present.

"No. This one isn't as strong. The big one is still on its way."

Fear crept in at the thought of two enemies, but Takato stomped out the feeling. It was an emotion that only made situations worse, not better. Instead of worrying, he thought about the people he would be protecting by battling. He smiled and threw his fist in the air. "Then we take on both! We have a city full of friends and family to protect!"

"Then we go now!" exclaimed Guilmon and smashed Takato's window with his head. The dinosaur climbed out of the window and landed with a thud on the ground. Before Takato could even react, Guilmon ran toward the bio-emerging digimon.

"They're never going to let him stay now…" groaned Takato as he opened the broken window. He carefully slipped through, trying his best to avoid broken glass. How Guilmon even fit through was a mystery to him. Takato sat on the window sill, not sure if to jump or not.

"What was that noise?" he heard his mom call from downstairs. Now having inspiration, Takato took the jump. The confrontation about the window would have to wait until he returned from battle. Battle… Sheesh, his mom was going to kill him for multiple reasons. A broken window, the new video on TV, and if another video sprouted up from the current battle.

"Guilmon, wait!" he called after his digimon as he tried to regain his sense of balance. Guilmon was barely visible up ahead. Takato sprinted in order to be remotely close to the dinosaur. People stared and screamed as the duo ran by, but Takato didn't take the time to cover up Guilmon. If the city didn't already know he existed, they'd hear from someone else anyways.

When he was almost caught up to his digimon, Takato heard his ringtone coming from his pocket. The tamer called for Guilmon to stop, but the digimon didn't appear to hear him. Guilmon was a runaway train heading toward the school. Trying not to slow down, Takato answered the phone with many pauses to breathe, "Claire… Now's not… A good time… Is this about… the digimon?"

"Hey, there are two bio-emerging in the city. You on your way?" asked Claire, basically answering his question. Except, she was talking of other digimon. Thinking she was pulling a prank on him, he waited for her to laugh and tell him the truth. He scratched his head as he waited, but she never told him it was a joke. Maybe she was getting the location wrong.

Takato realized he stopped running because his breathing was almost even again. Guilmon wasn't in sight anymore either. Hoping he knew where Guilmon was dashing to, Takato said to Claire, "In the city? But Guilmon is running toward the school."

The call was suddenly ended. Takato made an attempt to text Claire the location in case she didn't hear, but his clumsy thumbs sent it to Kenta. He groaned, knowing his friend would eventually show up to the battle scene. The tamer stuffed his phone back into his pocket before he invited others to the battle on accident.

This Deva was by far the biggest digimon he had seen. The tamer couldn't even see the top of the horse's head. Nothing made him feel smaller than the horse Deva. It stood perfectly still and stared down at Guilmon. Takato read off of his D-Power, "Indramon, ultimate level… Deva, like I thought."

"You have heard of me then." The horse smirked at the duo. He reached for the horn on his back, but froze when a tiny fireball slammed into his stomach. Takato feared that Guilmon attacked, but his dinosaur had backed up next to him and made no such attack. Guilmon appeared just as confused as his tamer.

"Hey! I'm still here, dammit!" Impmon screamed at the Deva. The imp stomped his foot on the ground like a spoiled child. Even though his eyes were covered with white hair, Takato could practically see Indramon roll his eyes. Impmon continued, "Are you afraid of me? You should be! I can kick your ass!"

Indramon slowly lifted an arm. Takato wanted to push Impmon out of the way, but Guilmon held up an arm for him to wait. If Impmon wanted to fight, the rookie would be given a chance. The horse slammed a hoof down onto Impmon. The imp was so small that Takato lost sight of him under the hoof.

"Takato!"

Jeri, who was sitting on Leomon's shoulder, entered the scene. She held up her D-Power to let Takato know they were partners. Leomon gently set her down next to her friend, who stared in awe. That digimon was known by almost everyone. Takato wanted to question her about how she came across the Leomon, but it was a conversation for another time. The current situation was more important.

The horse lifted his hoof, but Impmon was not crushed. The rookie formed a ring of fire on the ground. A fireball about the size of Guilmon's pyro sphere appeared in the middle of the ring. The imp threw the fireball at Indramon. Not amused, Indramon blew the fireball away with a puff of air. Impmon screamed at the Deva, "You piece of shit! Why won't you battle me?"

"I can fight all three of you," Indramon responded. Guilmon haunched over and growled at the mention of fighting. Leomon placed a hand on his sword, but did not unsheathe it. The two were ready to go, but Impmon refused to battle together. Indramon added, "Where is your tamer? The stench of humans weighs heavily on you."

"I don't need humans to digivolve!" Impmon spat in Guilmon's direction. He pointed at Leomon also. Indramon laughed and slammed his hoof onto Impmon again. The rookie lied flat and struggled to hold his data together. Impmon still had the nerve to state, "Is that all you got? I fight digimon stronger than you daily!"

"Leave him alone!" Jeri yelled and stood in front of the imp. Indramon stopped his stomping motion and glared down at Jeri.

"Jeri, get out of there!" Takato stepped forward, but Leomon held him in place. The tamer tried to push Leomon's hand away, but the lion held strong. Takato begged, but Leomon shook his head.

"Jeri is brave. Indramon will not hurt her. You will be able to tell when he's about to attack by the way he speaks," Leomon informed Takato. He didn't understand how the lion could be so calm, but Takato wasn't going to argue with a lion that had a sword.

"You are letting a human protect you? Such a shame," chuckled Indramon. The horse reared his head back to laugh. When he calmed himself, he glared back down. Impmon had disappeared. Indramon told Jeri, "What was the point of protecting someone who was just going to run away?"

Jeri glanced over her shoulder, but the imp was gone as Indramon said. She tried to back away from the horse, but fell onto her butt. Indramon reached for the horn on his back. No longer wanting to stand by, Takato swiped a card through his D-Power. He shouted, "Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"

Growlmon let out a loud howl before shoving Indramon. The horse stood strong and didn't budge. Indramon pulled the horn off of his back and aimed it at the dinosaur. A pyro blaster was spat out, but went straight into the horn. Takato and Growlmon both gasped when the pyro blaster had no effect. The champion tried again, but had the same reaction.

Growlmon tossed Leomon toward Indramon's face. The lion unsheathed his sword and slashed down on the horse's face. Indramon huffed and swatted Leomon out of the air. Jeri screamed, running to her partner's aid. Takato pulled Jeri away when the horn was aimed at the lion. The girl screamed for Takato to let her help him, but he yelled over her, "Growlmon!"

Growlmon stepped in front of Leomon in time to block the majority of the attack. A white light was shot out of the horn. The dinosaur and lion were thrown into the air and were thrown into the school. Takato searched for the two, but couldn't see either. Jeri was in hysterics when they couldn't find their partners. Were they destroyed in the blast?

"I'm here!" Kenta announced, out of breath. He was bent over and took deep breaths. Takato didn't even acknowledge him and continued to search for Growlmon. Kenta handed him a card and said in between breaths, "I made this before coming. I made it like you described before."

It was a hand drawn blue card. Takato rolled his eyes and stuffed it in his pocket. He called out Growlmon's name in time to see Growlmon rise from the rubble of the school. In an attempt to help, Takato swiped another card. "Digi-Modify! Power activate!"

"Digi-Modify!" Jeri yelled. She copied Takato's motions as she ran a card through her D-Power. It was strange that she was now on the same level as him. Jeri felt like an official tamer. "Energy activate!"

Leomon hopped out of the rubble and stood tall next to Growlmon. They were back in the battle. Growlmon spat another pyro blaster while Leomon professionally aimed his sword and threw it. The pyro blaster was sucked into the horn, but the sword stabbed straight into Indramon's knee.

"He used to be a Deva just like the others, but then he took a sword to the knee," chuckled Takato. It wasn't the time for jokes, but it helped put himself in a brighter mood. No one else seemed to understand his joke and he sighed. Such a waste of comedic gold in his opinion.

"Takato, their attacks aren't doing enough damage!" Jeri exclaimed as Indramon pulled the sword out of his knee. The Deva was unscathed and appeared to just be annoyed. Indramon threw the sword, which hit with a loud clatter, down to the ground. Jeri shook Takato and shouted, "That horse is going to kill them!"

"I don't have any more useful cards!" admitted Takato. He shuffled through each card and felt like throwing the cards in the air. What was the point of having all those cards if none of them were useful?

"I just gave you a blue card…" Kenta sighed and crossed his arms. The teen didn't seem to understand how being a tamer worked. He couldn't just create something and expect it to work. Realizing that was exactly what he had done, Takato reached in his pocket for the made-up blue card. Kenta threw his hands in the air and yelled, "Finally! Damn, Takato. Just believe it'll work. That's how you got Guilmon, right?"

"Language!" Jeri shouted at Kenta, who ignored her. He could cuss as many damn times as he wanted. Stupid Jeri wasn't going to stop him.

"Digi-Modify! Matrix digivolution activate!" Takato called out and swiped the paper card. The card became thicker as it was swiped through. The tamer was surprised when Growlmon actually began changing forms. Kenta had done two things right in a span of twenty-four hours. It would probably never happen again. Takato commanded his ultimate digimon, "Radiation blade!"

The blades on WarGrowlmon's arms lit up. He sliced through the horn, completely destroying it. Indramon, shocked, stepped away from WarGrowlmon, but the dinosaur was moving too fast. The horse yelled at him, "By killing me, you will for sure seal your fate! It is not too late to change sides!"

"Duck down!" Takato warned, for he knew what was about to happen. He and Henry barely survived the attack last time, so he wanted to be more careful. Takato and Kenta fell to the ground and covered their heads. Leomon shielded Jeri, who was also on the ground.

"I don't know what you Deva want with us, but we will never join up with you!" WarGrowlmon shouted his response. He gripped Indramon and pushed him toward the school. The blasters on his shoulders began to glow as his attack charged up. When it was ready, WarGrowlmon said, "Atomic blaster!"

A giant flash of red was all that could be seen. Takato and the others shielded their eyes from the atomic explosion. They could hear the school exploding as well as Indramon's shrieks. WarGrowlmon absorbed the Deva's data once he was dispersed. The dinosaur wasn't sure what Indramon was meaning when he said their fate was sealed, but it was too late to take back Indramon's death.

"Yeah, WarGrowlmon!" exclaimed Kenta as he hopped up. The teen laughed as he saw the school in rubble. "Guess we don't have school tomorrow!"

"I don't know why you find that funny. There could have been people in there!" Jeri snapped at Kenta. He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Jeri was such a buzz kill.

"Takato, there's someone else about to bio-emerge in the city," warned WarGrowlmon, already ruining the feeling of victory. Takato swallowed hard and felt the chill return. Why was he still cold? Did it have anything to do with the Deva bio-emerging? He didn't have time to think it over before he received a call from Claire.

"Where the hell were you?!" Claire was clearly angry with him. Her words kicked up a fire in him. She shouldn't be questioning him when she and Henry was who knows where during the battle.

"Where was _I?_ Where were _you? _I needed you two here!" Takato shouted his response. WarGrowlmon shook his head at him, reminding him that a different enemy was coming. It wasn't the time to be fighting with friends and allies. He sighed, "It doesn't matter now. It's over. We need to meet up because the war isn't over. There's someone even bigger coming. Someone we can't face separate."


	20. Chapter 20

**jerome292- I probably could recover Terriermon's arm that way... But I'm too mean to be that kind to characters ;) It gives something for Terriermon to struggle with and learn to accept, also.**

**Alright, another chapter about some of the minor characters!**

* * *

"Hello?" she heard her dad downstairs groan as he answered the phone. Whoever it was on the phone, Dad wasn't happy to be receiving a call from them. Alice sat on top of the stairs and listened in to the angry conversation. "I don't give a shit that you're in town. You will not see the girls. You've done nothing to deserve to see them."

Alice wondered who would actually care to see her and Claire. No family ever visited them nor did they ever visit family. No one ever came over to the house. The only person Alice could ever recall coming over was Takato. That was once and it was years ago. Dad was supposed to be out of town on a business trip, but he returned early. Takato found out that night what happens when Dad was angry. Claire was beaten to a pulp that night. It would have gone farther if Takato and Alice hadn't stepped in.

"Damn it, Dad. Just continue to stay at that hotel on Main Street. You are _not _staying here."

_Dad?_ Alice thought. Her grandfather was in town? Dad wasn't going to let her grandfather visit her. Alice always wanted to meet more family and that was her chance. She heard her father slam his phone down and shout her name. If she didn't have a reason to leave the house before, her father was ready to beat her. He shouted, "Alice, where are you? We need to talk."

Alice scrambled into her room and slammed it behind her. It wasn't the smartest plan, for the sound would give away where she was. She tried to push the window open, but it would not budge. With as much force as she could muster, she barely pushed it open enough to squeeze through. The thirteen-year-old barely made it out the window before her door was flung open.

She hit the ground on her side. Her head smacked the ground, causing her vision to turn blurry. It wasn't the time to rest, so she forced herself up. Still unable to see straight, she picked a direction to run and hoped she would run head first into anything. Alice heard her dad yell from the window, "Run away like your damn sister! If you come back, I'll kill you! I'll _kill _you!"

His words rang in her head as ran toward Main Street. Her grandfather _had _to be better than her father. She couldn't imagine that there could be a worse human being out there. The blonde slowed down to catch her breath and to allow her vision to straighten up. Alice carefully touched her to check for blood. Relief spread through when no blood was seen on her hand.

It didn't take long for Alice to find the hotel. It was easy for her to find the room also. All she had to do was lie to man behind a counter. She had said to him, "I'm so sorry, but I lost my key. My last name's McCoy. Can I have another?" She wasn't planning on actually using the card, but the card read the room number on it. Alice hurried up the steps to the third floor and knocked on the correct door.

"May I help you?" a man answered the door. He appeared a bit young to be her grandfather, but she didn't rule out that maybe he had a child at a younger age. Without saying a word, she hugged the man and cried. He patted her on the back and asked, "You're one of my granddaughters, aren't you? Are… Are you Claire or Alice?"

Introductions would be later. She was just happy to find someone who wouldn't turn her away or beat her.

* * *

Janyu was led down a hallway by a blond man. It was strange to be called into this on a Sunday. The call sounded urgent, so he couldn't say no. He showed up like he was asked, leaving Suzie, Henry, and Claire behind with his wife. The man wanted to spend the day with his family, but fate seemed to have another idea. Work called when work had to be done.

"Where exactly are we heading?" he questioned the man as they walked down the hall. The blond man didn't respond, but picked up his pace. Janyu sighed and continued to blindly follow. "Can you at least tell me what your name is?"

"Yamaki."

"I'm Ja—"

"I'm very much aware of who you are, Mr. Wong. I wouldn't have sent a call for your assistance if I didn't know you." Yamaki stopped in front of a door. He let out a sigh, trying to quench his anger. The blond pulled the door open.

"It's about damn time you showed your face around here," a familiar voice laughed. A dark skinned man stood up from behind a computer to greet his old friend. He held out his hand for a hand shake, but Janyu went straight in for a hug.

"Babel!" Janyu exclaimed during the hug. Now that was a face he hadn't seen in a long time. A couple of other familiar faces began to stand up. He greeted each one the same way he had Babel. "Curly! Daisy!"

"Hey, Tao," they both laughed and hugged the man.

"Didn't forget about me did you?" Rob McCoy chuckled and stood up. Nothing had changed about McCoy other than age. Janyu could recall the Monster Maker days like it was yesterday with all of them around. They exchanged a hug.

"Hey, Dolphin," Janyu greeted the professor. He noticed a blonde girl sitting in a chair next to the one McCoy was originally in. Recognizing the face, he said, "Hey… Uh, not Claire."

Alice nodded acknowledgement. She found it strange that the man would recognize her, but didn't say anything. After all, she only came that time because she was afraid her father followed her to the hotel. The next day, she would not be returning. No point in introductions.

"Is Shibumi coming, too? Why are we all here?" asked Curly, bringing attention back to the matter at hand. Daisy nodded along in agreement with Curly. Janyu was curious also why all but Shibumi would be reunited.

"We couldn't track him down," Yamaki started. He hoped Shibumi wasn't the most important key to the Monster Makers. The man pointed to the TV screen behind the group, drawing all of their attention to it. "I'm going to assume that you all have watched what was on it at some point since arriving. What you have been seeing on that screen is not a movie. All those scenes are live and happening this very second."

Everyone turned their heads to the TV screen. A boy in a blue hoodie was yelling at a girl. She was standing in front of a purple creature, protecting it from the monster that stood before her. The purple creature forced itself up and ran away from the scene, leaving the girl alone. The boy had seen enough and shouted something about evolving. The dinosaur next to him grew more than twice its size and attacked the giant monster.

"Takato," gasped Alice, recognizing her sister's best friend. Takato had his own digimon! She wondered where her sister had gone if she was not with Takato. Alice was going to say more, but Yamaki flipped the channel to another news station before she could speak up.

That news station was showing a different battle. A bunny digimon was thrown into the air by a giant sheep. It all seemed surreal when the bunny reappeared much bigger than it had started. It even somehow gained a pair of pants. The camera cut over to the two teens that stood a ways off from the battling digimon. The two teens were recognized by many of the people in the room.

"That's Henry and Terriermon!" Janyu gasped. He knew his son battled to protect the city before, but he had never seen such a forward display of it. Henry appeared to be almost panicking as he shuffled through his cards. Janyu wished he was at the battleground to help his son. The father found strange comfort that Claire was with Henry. It was best that she was there with him.

"Is that… Your older sister?" McCoy asked his granddaughter. Alice slowly nodded her confirmation. McCoy grew pale at the sight of her in harm's way. He turned to Yamaki and stated, "Those are digimon, aren't they? We did this…"

"You are absolutely correct. You are here to stop what you have started."

* * *

What he needed was right before his eyes. All it would take was a shove and he'd have it. He trembled at the thought though. All the years of friendship he built up would be gone in one fatal swoop. Granted, he didn't know Henry that well, but he knew Claire. The girl would flack her mouth to the rest of their friends and it'd be all over. If he hurried, the deed would be done before anyone could do anything about it.

Also, if he accidentally hurt Claire, Henry would kick his ass. Everyone knew Henry was a swimmer and just as good in Tai Chi. Both of those activities screamed, "I'm in shape and can kill you if I need to." Shivers went down his spin before he remembered a certain factor. If only Henry could catch him, that is. Henry's injury couldn't have come at a greater time in Kazu's life. He would be gone before Henry could take two steps.

"Henry, I'm so tired. Can we go home?" asked Terriermon as he snuggled closer to his tamer. Shit, forgot about Henry's digimon. Terriermon would stop him before he could snatch it away. That was a factor he forgot to consider.

"I wish… Takato didn't have good news for us." Claire's voice was grave. She warned the duo of another Deva soon to arrive. The word Deva sent chills down Kazu's body as he thought of the monkey. It seemed that everyone had their own Deva to worry about.

"Hello! Are you here to play too?"

Kazu practically screamed as Calumon stepped in front of him. That was his chance. Claire was preoccupied with Henry, who was showing his digimon attention. It was the perfect getaway. Only thing that could stop him was if Calumon screamed. He picked up Calumon, who was giggling. Calumon thought they were about to play a game. The digimon could easily run, but was too stupid for its own good. He reassured Calumon, "Yeah, we'll play a game. Just be quiet for now, okay? Battlegrounds are not the place to play."

"Okay! I get it!" Calumon practically yelled. If the monkey wouldn't kill his mom, Kazu would have punted the digimon in frustration. Calumon sensed his irritation and put a finger over his mouth. A promise of silence from then on.

Kazu, keeping his eyes on Claire and Henry, started to back away from the scene. The two teens weren't even paying attention. Claire was still trying to talk to Henry, but Henry didn't seem to be listening to any of it. The girl did talk a lot, but Henry could at least nod acknowledgement or something. Kazu rolled his eyes, not sure why he cared. No point in caring when he was going to lose Claire's friendship and any chance of being Henry's friend.

The boy continued to back away. It never occurred to him that he should also pay attention to behind him. Kazu ran straight into another digimon. He felt his blood run cold and slowly turned around. A fox taller than him stared him down with a suspicious glare. The digimon said, "Where do you think you're going?"

"We're going to play!" Calumon spoke up first. The digimon snuggled into Kazu's chest as the giggles kicked up again. His ears were expanded when he looked up at Kazu. As annoying as Calumon had been earlier, he knew how to make Kazu smile. Calumon was pretty cute.

"I don't believe for one second that that was what was about to happen." Renamon held out her hand for Kazu to hand over Calumon. Kazu gripped onto the white digimon, holding onto his mother's life force. He wasn't sure when he could have such an opportunity. If he didn't up a lie fast, Renamon would take Calumon by force.

"I'm sorry," was what came out of his mouth. At that point, Claire helped Henry hobble over. Terriermon, who was ready to help, stood next to Renamon. Stupid digimon getting in the way of saving what was left of his family. Kazu continued to lie, "I'm sorry for my actions lately. I've just been a jealous doofus. I thought maybe if I played with Calumon that he'd want to be my partner. Then I wouldn't be the loser friend without a digimon…"

Claire's eyes softened, which let Kazu know she bought the lie. She patted him on the shoulder and gave him a genuine smile. He wanted to truly apologize for the way he's been acting, but that would give away that stupid monkey. Makuramon would somehow find out and kill his mother. The girl gave him a hug, breaking his thoughts. Kazu blushed, knowing that Claire only gave hugs to certain people. He'd only ever seen her give hugs to Takato and Henry. Before he could say more, Claire spoke up, "Welcome back, Kazu. I've missed you. I know that Kenta and Takato have missed you too."

"You forgave him awfully quick. You sure he's telling the truth?" questioned Henry. _Shut up_, Kazu thought but never spoke. If Henry kept questioning, Claire might figure out something was up. Claire gave Henry a playful punch on the shoulder and smiled. Henry relaxed when she smiled. The tamer sighed, "Alright. I don't trust him, but I trust you."

"Momentai, Henry. Not everyone is out to destroy us!" Terriermon laughed as he climbed onto Claire's shoulder. The tamer rolled his eyes at the digimon, who snickered. It killed Kazu that they trusted him so quickly. It was good that he wasn't given away, but he didn't want to break their trust. He was only doing what he had to do to keep his family alive. Kazu held in a sigh as he thought, _oh, little bunny, how wrong you are…_

"We have to move. That digimon is going to bio-emerge soon. Let's not leave Takato and Guilmon alone for the battle," warned Renamon. The fox picked up Henry before running toward where she thought the Deva would emerge to the real world.

"You're welcome to come if you wish. Takato would be happy to see you," Claire told him before running after Renamon and Henry. She didn't look back, but Terriermon watched over his shoulder. Kazu almost took that as a threat. He could hear Terriermon's voice in his head, _follow or I'll know something's up_.

"Shit," Kazu mumbled aloud. Calumon retracted his ears at Kazu's word. The digimon stared up at him for he wanted to follow his friends into battle. Groaning, Kazu ran after the others. Makuramon would have to wait just a little longer.


	21. Chapter 21

Rika and Melissa had sat dormant most of the day up in the bedroom. Everything was silent except for the occasional chatter of IceDevimon. Whoever he was talking to never gave a response. Maybe he was talking to himself, but Rika didn't care to know. Not like she could find out on her anyways. Melissa wasn't planning on moving. Eventually, Rika's spirit grew tired from lack of movement. Without meaning to, she slipped into slumber.

"About damn time," Melissa groaned and stood up. Rika's body was much easier to control when Rika wasn't constantly fighting back. If she had another host body that was better than Rika, Melissa would jump ship. It was a shame none of the tamers were suitable at the moment. Sighing at the thought, she called out, "IceDevimon!"

The demon appeared before her at the sound of his name. He knelt on a knee to be more level with Melissa. The virus rolled her host's eyes and tossed a D-Power at the digimon. IceDevimon quickly caught it and saved it from shattering on the ground. The champion level digimon growled at her, "Why are you throwing this around? It's not yours to play with."

"I don't need it anymore," she chuckled and leaned against the wall. Rika was well aware that she was possessed. Only reason Melissa kept that D-Power around was to convince her hosts that they were just tamers, not part of a much bigger picture that would likely end in their death. IceDevimon was gravely silent which caused a scoff from Melissa. "What? Are you still holding on to Hayden?"

"He was my partner and this was his D-Power. Excuse me for having a bit of sadness for the dead." IceDevimon stared at the D-Power. It felt like it was just yesterday that Hayden was running around with a smile on his face. The demon was fully committed to Melissa, but Hayden showed him kindness during their short time together.

Melissa snatched the D-Power away from IceDevimon's hand. She slammed it onto the floor and stomped until the Digivice was destroyed. IceDevimon didn't move or react. He just watched. When she was pleased, Melissa told him, "Must I remind you that you can't hold onto his memory? Sadness makes you weak. Sadness opens the gate for viruses like me. We cause sadness, not create our own."

"So you are Project MEL, huh? I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't an actual human," a voice laughed. A rooster waddled into the room, which caused an eruption of laughter from Melissa. Sinduramon glared at the virus and hissed, "What are you laughing at? I should be laughing at you, human."

"I'm laughing at the fact that you seem to think you'd intimidate me. You are nothing but a stupid rooster that can play with electricity," Melissa started with laughter in her tone. She paced a circle around Sinduramon as she spoke. Sinduramon followed her with his eyes, but did not move from his spot. Melissa could feel his nervousness flow from him. If only the Deva knew that such feelings helped fuel her. "What makes you so special, hmmm? What makes you have the audacity to come talk down to me?"

"I am a Deva. I am one of the strongest digimon in the digital world," Sinduramon's voice almost cracked. Melissa bopped the rooster on the beak as she continued to circle him. Sinduramon added with more conviction, "You won't harm me. The Sovereign won't allow it!"

"Do you think he gives two shits about you?" Melissa almost laughed again. She exchanged a glance with IceDevimon, so the demon would prepare for the jump. Whenever she already had a host and she was able to touch the next host, she didn't need his help, but she wanted him to know what was about to happen. Melissa stopped her circling to look Sinduramon dead in the eye. "You are the weakest of the Deva. Don't you doubt it for two seconds."

"You speak lies!"

"Then why would the Sovereign not send you after the tamers, hmmm? Every single Deva has a mission now… Except for you. The Sovereign won't miss you."

Melissa grasped Sinduramon's head. The rooster tried to pull away, but it was too late. The virus left Rika's body and seeped into Sinduramon. The rooster screamed as he was being destroyed from the inside out. What feathers he had began to fall out. He shrieked for Melissa to leave him be, but she was not very gracious. She snickered in a mix of her own voice and Sinduramon's, "Shouldn't have come up here."

Pieces of Sinduramon's body fell off and burst into data. Sinduramon fell silent when his beak shattered to the floor. The rooster's data began to expand and contrast, so IceDevimon grabbed both Sinduramon and Rika's sleeping body. The demon helped Melissa make the jump back into Rika's body just in time for Sinduramon's data to explode apart. IceDevimon absorbed the data before sighing, "Was that really necessary?"

"No." Melissa smirked and shrugged. It had been awhile since she last killed someone or something. Killing helped make her stronger. The power she had over humans and data was a great feeling. She turned to IceDevimon. "If the Sovereign even bothers to ask, we'll say he attacked and we retaliated."

"You still shouldn't have done that," IceDevimon warned. He liked the new power flowing through him, but that might have caused them to gain an enemy in the Sovereign. Melissa never thought of such consequences.

"I had to get a kill in before I…" Her voice trailed off. Rika was about to wake back up sometime in the next hour or so. Melissa had to tell IceDevimon her plan quickly. Clearing her throat, she continued, "I'm going to jump soon. I heard you and the Sovereign talking about a new servant coming to the digital world. I want control of him. Can you make that happen?"

"I will speak to the Sovereign of this immediately."

* * *

"So, you have an offer to make me, huh?" Impmon questioned as he followed the dog. Caturamon brought him to the digital world without even asking. It wasn't like Impmon had anything else to do anyways. He had no friends in the human world and he didn't want to stay after his embarrassing defeat against Indramon. After making the trip to the digital world did Caturamon tell him why he was there.

"You want to be strong, yes?" Caturamon hinted at their future deal. The dog didn't even look at Impmon. He continued to stride through the desert and didn't doubt that the imp would be close behind. Impmon wasn't his choice of experiment, but he did the Sovereign's biding.

"Hmph, what's it to you? Why do you care?" Impmon grunted his response. He crossed his arms and stomped after the dog. Impmon didn't know why he bothered following anymore. Caturamon was probably going to kill and absorb his data. The dog was scamming him.

"I care because I know what kind of power you're capable of. I know someone that is willing to help you."

"I don't need help! Go to hell!" Impmon shouted before turning away. Caturamon picked up the rookie with his massive jaw. Impmon hung from Caturamon's mouth as the dog took off running. He yelled, "What the hell are you doing? Let me go and fight me like a real digimon! I'll show you that I have enough power to kick your ass!"

Caturamon blocked out whatever else Impmon had to say. He ran until IceDevimon and Melissa were in sight. The Deva skidded to a stop and spat out Impmon. The imp turned to say something to the Deva, but Caturamon cut up, "Damn, shut up! Just listen for once, you insufferable imp."

"You want to change forms and be stronger. I can make it happen," Melissa started off with. She smirked and waited for a response from the digimon.

"Ha! How? By becoming partners with the Digimon Queen? Sorry, toots, but I've had partners before," Impmon told her. He was the smug one after that. He had _two _partners instead of the typical one. Impmon then recalled how she and IceDevimon had treated him. "Plus, why would I team up with you? I'm a waste of your time remember."

"I'm not a human, you twit," Melissa snapped back at the digimon. She took a moment to center her emotions. The virus hated that was a part of her humanization. Emotions were the one trait she could do without. "I am a virus that has been given the power to possess not only data, but humans as well. I currently possess this human. But it doesn't have to be possession. We can live together and become stronger. This human refused, so now I possess her. I can give you a form you can only dream of!"

"Prove it," Impmon scoffed. He crossed his arms. "Show me this form of which you speak."

"Only if you make a promise first," Caturamon jumped in. The dog sat down in the warm sand before he continued. "After you and Melissa become one, you will destroy any human you see in the digital world."

"Psh, that's a pretty simple agreement. And if she's a fake, what happens?"

Melissa grabbed Impmon's face before anyone answered. Rika's body fell to the ground as Melissa made the transition to Impmon's body. The imp started screaming as his data began to move around. IceDevimon picked up Rika's sleeping body and said, "I'll take care of her. I'll be back soon."

* * *

Rika kept going in and out of consciousness. Why was she so tired? She felt so weak and wasn't sure why. Wind was blowing through her hair at one point. The tamer could recall asking and actually saying, "What's… Happening?"

"You're free," she heard, but wasn't sure who was speaking. A hand tightened around her as she was lowered to the warm sand. The voice spoke again before she fell asleep again, "This is the one time I'm going to help. They think I left to kill you."

The sand was so warm… Rika liked the warmth. It made her even sleepier than she was before. In her deliriousness, she imagined her mother trying to wake her up for school, so she whispered, "Five more minutes."

A new voice woke her up. She was being carried again, but the person or digimon carrying her that time was different. Still too tired and weak to open her eyes, she listened. Her carrier was growling, so she identified it as digimon. The new voice said, "What is it?"

"A powerful enemy has left her here. We must track it," the digimon's voice was rough. It sent fear in Rika. She was kind of glad she couldn't open her eyes. Rika was afraid of what digimon was carrying her.

The digimon started to run, but after being snapped with a whip, the digimon stopped. The digimon growled, but the other person or digimon spoke again. "We can't just run off blind. Let's get her to safety first."

Rika tried to say something, but sleep overcame her again. Before falling asleep, she found herself thinking, _please don't be enemies…_


	22. Chapter 22

** chakrabarti.9- I've thought about Leomon's death scene more than any other event in the entire series. I won't say whether or not I will still kill Leomon, but I will say that that scene will be much different than in the show ;)  
**

* * *

_Juggernaut at 60%_

"De-digivolving probably wasn't smart, Guilmon," Takato sighed as he followed after his digimon. Leomon was carrying Jeri and Kenta not too far behind them. The tamer sighed again, frustrated that he was always stuck running.

"I can't hold that form forever, Takatomon. Just like I can't hold food in my tummy forever. It has to come out eventually," Guilmon answered like it was simple knowledge. The dinosaur snickered at his poop joke.

"Gross, boy. Could have kept that one to yourself," chuckled Takato and patted Guilmon on the head as he passed him. He could make out the others in the distance, so he picked up speed. When he reached them, he kind of stammered, "Ka… Kazu? What are you doing here?"

"He's cool now. He apologized," Claire answered before Kazu had to lie again. Kazu felt relieved, but he hated that he had to lie to his friends. Claire trusted him so fast too. The teen grasped Calumon tighter to him as Takato looked him over.

"Awesome! Welcome back, buddy!" Takato exclaimed and patted Kazu on the back. Kenta even welcomed him back with the same motion. The original group of friends was back together and they hoped to never be separated again.

"I'm happy you four are all done fighting or whatever, but we're about to have a bigger problem. This digimon might actually beat us," Henry brought up. He didn't want to suck up the fun, but a Deva was soon to appear. Terriermon jumped from Claire's head and latched onto Henry's. When his balanced was centered, he kicked Henry in the head with one of his feet. Henry grunted, "Ow, what was that for?"

"For being such a worry wart! Don't be that asshole that brings everyone's mood down," Terriermon scoffed him. Usually it was Henry correcting Terriermon, so it was strange for the tamer. He rolled his eyes and set Terriermon on the ground. Terriermon sighed at his tamer, "Momentai…"

"Yeah, Henry. Don't be an ass," Claire added on to stab at Henry. She jokingly elbowed him in the side while Henry's face was blood red. Her mood deflated when he turned away from her. Claire reached for his shoulder, but he stepped away. Heat rose to her face, for she was embarrassed too. After the night before, she thought they had some sort of connection. The girl wasn't sure if her feelings were returned, but she wouldn't be upset if that connection was still kept through friendship. Maybe she was wrong. The blonde sighed to him, "Hey, sorry. I'll leave you alone."

"No, I don't think it's you," Jeri whispered to Claire. When she caught Claire's attention, she pointed the direction Henry was facing. A tiny bit of mist was forming. They spied the digital field just in time for it to expand all around them. Claire found herself a bit relieved and Jeri giggled.

Takato pulled his goggles over his eyes while Henry put on a pair of sunglasses. The others held their hands over their eyes until they adjusted to the new surroundings. A giant hog towered in the middle of the digital field. Jeri pointed her D-Power at the creature like she had seen the other tamers do before her. She read out loud, "Vikaralamon, he's a pig Deva. Ultimate level. Guys, this pig is going to be tough."

"You seem to forget that it's four versus one pig," Renamon told Jeri with a hint of ego in her tone. The fox hopped in the air and crossed her arms. She let out a spray of diamonds as she yelled, "Diamond storm!"

The diamonds were aimed directly at one of Vikaralamon's eyes. The eye made a squishy-popping noise that none of the teens would ever forget. The hog let out a squeal as its eye's data floated away. Vikaralamon yelled out, "You will pay for that!"

The Deva spat a black essence in front of him, not really aiming. The bog hit Renamon, Jeri, Claire, and Kenta all in one hit. The substance was sticky, so the teens and Renamon were stuck to the ground. Kenta tried to fight against it, only getting himself more stuck than before. The boy yelled, "This smells like shit!"

"Language!" Jeri shouted at Kenta in disgust. How Jeri could still be calm during that moment was beyond Kenta. He was on the verge of panic while Jeri seemed to be as calm as can be.

"It's not the time to be fighting over what has been said! We have to figure out how to get ourselves out. Can the free digimon do something?" suggested Claire, lying still. When she had struggled, she felt herself sink deeper in the bog. It reminded her of quicksand from old cartoons.

Takato turned to aid his friends, but Leomon stopped him. He unsheathed his sword and sliced his tamer free from the bog. The lion turned to Takato and told him, "I'll worry about getting them out. You, Henry, and your partners continue fighting the pig."

_Juggernaut at 75%_

Takato and Henry swiped digivolution cards in time to watch the sky rip in half. The tamers could see a funnel begin to form in the distance. It reminded Takato of the day Rika was kidnapped into the digital world. He started to say something to Henry, but the blue haired boy interrupted him with, "I know. I see it. That idiot started up his program again."

"Gargo laser!" Gargomon called out as he shot his single gun. The bullets ricocheted off of the pig's pelt. Gargomon practically danced to dodge to bullets hitting the ground. The bunny called to Henry, "Unless I want to hurt myself or those nearby, my attack won't work at this level."

Growlmon spat a fireball at Vikaralamon. The fireball was a direct hit, but did no damage. The dinosaur tried a dragon slash attack, but his arms bounced off of the pig like Gargomon's bullets. The pig chuckled and began stomping through the city. The dinosaur admitted to Takato, "I think you were right earlier about de-digivolving."

Claire and Jeri stepped up to Takato and mentioned evolving to ultimate level. Takato's noise crinkled as he looked at the black muck all over Claire and Jeri's bodies. He told them, "You two smell bad."

"That's exactly what every girl wants to hear," Jeri said, her face blood red. Takato blushed when Jeri smelt her arm. He didn't mean to say she smelt bad, it just sort of came out. Around Claire he could get away with saying that, so he forgot that not all girls took to that in a joking manner. Jeri coughed at her own smell. Trying to turn attention off of her smell, she asked, "Are you going to evolve to ultimate or not?"

"We don't have a blue card. How are we supposed to do that?" questioned Henry as Gargomon punched Vikaralamon in a sad attempt to stop the hog. The gun cracked a bit at contact, so Gargomon yipped. Henry shouted at his partner, "Stop it! That's not going to do anything!"

"I don't see you coming up with ideas, Henry!" Gargomon spat back. He didn't want to fight with his partner. Both were agitated and took it out on each other. Gargomon stood next to his tamer and sighed, "Sorry. I know you're trying, but I wish you would please move it a bit. That ham is going to wreck the town."

"Wish," Kenta repeated Gargomon. A stroke of genius every once in awhile was something Kenta could get used to. Kicking what bit of black bog he had left off of his shoe, Kenta added, "Just wish a card to be a blue card. That's what you did earlier with that blue card I made, Takato!"

"Calumon… We need Calumon too! He seems to help them digivolve!" Claire added on as her eyes darted around for the little digimon. Kazu had slinked away from the battlefield and was ducking in an alley. Claire called for their friend to come back over, but he didn't move. She ran over, but Kazu ran farther into the alley.

_Juggernaut at 95%_

"Please, leave me alone!" Kazu yelled when he reached the end of the alley. His back was against the wall and he clasped Calumon. The digimon tried to wiggle free, but Kazu held tight.

"I get that you're scared of what's going on out there, but please don't run away," Claire tried to reason with the scared teen. She found it strange that he was never really looking at her once she entered the alley. Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted a monkey in time for it to jump onto her back.

"Don't let him take me! I can't go back! Please don't hand me over!" Calumon started screaming statements such as that.

Claire slammed her back into a wall, knocking Makuramon off of her. She tried to kick the monkey, but he was too quick. Makuramon caught her leg and flipped her onto her back. He placed a foot on her chest, not allowing her up. The monkey chuckled, "You think you can fight me, silly little human?"

"Kazu, do something!" Claire shouted at her friend.

"I… I can't!" was his response. He tossed Calumon toward Makuramon and sunk to the ground. Kazu covered his face and fell to his knees. The teen didn't want to see what was going to happen.

Makuramon leaped into the air to catch Calumon. The white digimon tried to pull away, but it was no use. Calumon couldn't escape his fate. The monkey snickered before saying, "Thanks for handing over the key. You are now free."

Claire stood to face the monkey, but Makuramon was gone. She forced Kazu to his feet before shoving him against the wall. It took everything inside her not to punch him back to the ground. The girl was up in his face and growled, "What the hell was that?! You just easily gave him up!"

"Mak… That monkey was going to attack us! I saved us!" Kazu lied again. Claire still couldn't see that he betrayed them. Maybe she did, but didn't want to believe it until he confirmed. He didn't know. When she shoved him again and turned to leave, he took it as she still trusted him. He called after her, with all sincerity in his voice, "What would you have done if you were in my shoes?"

"I wouldn't have handed over a friend like that."

_You don't understand_… He thought and followed her out of the alley.

* * *

"I wish to protect the city," Takato said to a card when Claire chased after Kazu. He wished with all of his heart to protect the city. The card shifted into a blue card after he spoke. Takato grinned and swiped it through his D-Power. "Digi-Modify! Matrix digivolution activate!"

When Takato had swiped the card, Growlmon was trying to stop Vikaralamon from walking any farther. The hog squealed when Growlmon changed into WarGrowlmon right before his eyes. WarGrowlmon managed to flip Vikaralamon onto his back. The dinosaur began charging his atomic blaster attack, but Vikaralamon spat a giant orange ball at him. The ball pinned WarGrowlmon to the ground. He tried pushing it off, but the ball was too heavy for his own strength.

"Well, that was fast…" Takato's spirit deflated.

"That wishing stuff actually worked?" Henry questioned, still suspicious of the simple action. It seemed too easy and unrealistic. An answer from Takato would have squashed any doubt, but his friend was zoned out and staring at WarGrowlmon. Groaning, Henry knew digivolving Gargomon might be their only chance. He held a card like Takato had and said with annoyance in his tone, "I wish to protect the city."

"That's not convincing, Henry," Jeri told him when his card didn't change. She didn't know anymore than he did, but she knew Takato had meant what he said. He honestly wanted to protect the city. Jeri continued, "Find something you really want to protect. Maybe then it'll work."

An image from earlier of Claire popped in his mind. She was so quick to help Gargomon and risked her life for him. Henry thought for sure she was going to die in that moment. An image of Suzie also popped in his mind. Lately, he had been impatient and rude to her. It was a result of his stress, but she didn't deserve such treatment. Closing his eyes, he whispered to the card, "I want to protect my sister. I want to protect… I want to protect Claire."

Henry didn't even have to see the card to know it had changed. He swiped it quick and watched Gargomon change into his ultimate form. The tamer yelled at his partner, "Hit him in the belly! His belly is exposed!"

Rapidmon shot a couple of missiles at the up-turned pig. Vikaralamon let out another squeal and spat up more black bog. The rabbit was sent spinning backwards and slammed into a building. The bog stuck him against the building, but his one arm was still free. Shooting another missile, Rapidmon shouted, "Nice try, porky!"

After the missile exploded, Leomon hopped onto Vikaralamon's stomach. The lion slashed the sword through one of Vikaralamon's legs. The leg exploded into data and floated into the air. Leomon moved to the next leg, but the pig rocked itself back onto its feet. Jeri gasped when she couldn't see her partner through all of the pig's hair. She called out, "Leomon!"

Leomon stabbed his sword up into Vikaralamon's stomach. He twisted the sword a few times before forcing it up farther into the pig. Vikaralamon reared back onto his back legs and Leomon ran out from under the pig. Jeri let out a sigh of relief until Vikaralamon spat black bog at Leomon. The lion was stuck to the pavement. Leomon used his free hand to begin clawing away at the bog.

_Juggernaut at 100%_

"What's happening?" Rapidmon questioned. His data was being stretched and pulled toward the funnel in the sky. If the bog wasn't sticking him to the building, the rabbit would be flying toward the funnel. Rapidmon glanced down at the digimon to see what state they were in.

"No, why are the digimon being pulled like that?" asked Claire when she reunited with the group. She had asked Takato, but the tamer was still staring at his partner. Claire shook her best friend, but received no reaction. "Damn it, Takato. Now's not the time to mess around like this."

"There's no hope, is there? Whether he is killed by a Deva or if he is pulled back into the digital world, I'm still going to lose Guilmon… Aren't I?" the tamer finally spoke up. Claire let go and backed away from him. It was unlike him to be defeated like that.

"Shut the hell up and man up!" Kazu started. The words flowed out of him so fast that he didn't realize the speech was truly to himself and not Takato. If he had a digimon partner, he would have lived by his words and stood up to Makuramon. "Just because a digimon appears tougher than him doesn't mean Vikaralamon is. Combine your strength with his. You'll be unstoppable."

Vikaralamon spat another orange ball at the funnel. A bright, orange explosion filled the sky. The tamers and friends ducked down, but the explosion was a ways away. The pig, who was proud of his work, laughed. He chuckled, "Silly humans think they can create something to delete me!"

Takato began to shout. WarGrowlmon turned his head toward the shouting boy. The tamer stomped his foot and pushed his arms forward. The dinosaur copied Takato's arm motions and pushed the orange ball off of him. Takato and WarGrowlmon both put their hands together and suddenly spread their arms apart, forcing the orange ball apart.

Henry tried yelling like Takato had, but Rapidmon just stared at him. He cleared his throat, embarrassed that his digimon wasn't as willing. Rapidmon called down, "I'm kind of stuck and have a gun for a hand. Do you want me to shoot myself?"

"Uh, no… Just shoot the damn pig already," Henry told him.

"That I can do! Rapid fire!" Rapidmon shot another missile straight into Vikaralamon's snout. The rabbit wanted to celebrate the direct hit by throw his fist in the air, but it was hard to do with a gun for hand. He settled for a compliment from Henry.

Before Vikaralamon could react to Rapidmon, WarGrowlmon grasped onto the pig's tusks. Before Takato could give the call, WarGrowlmon was already charging up the attack. Takato yelled the command, "Atomic blaster!"

"Are you crazy?! We're all right here!" Kenta shouted too late.

All of the teens dove to the ground. Henry shielded Claire while Leomon shielded his tamer. Kenta and Kazu grabbed onto each other in fear. Renamon stepped in front of Takato to save him from any possible flying debris. WarGrowlmon then released his attack.

A bright red light temporarily blinded them all. The wind from the explosion almost blew them away, but they were sturdy in their position. When the city became silent, Takato attempted to stand up. He looked over his friends and was relieved everyone was okay. The tamer awkwardly said, "Uh… Sorry about that."

"Is that evil digimon gone?" asked Jeri as Leomon helped her to her feet.

"There was no way he would survive such an attack," Renamon told her.

Henry offered a hand to Claire. She hesitantly took it and he pulled her up. There wasn't doubt in her mind that she was blushing up a storm. Claire stuttered, "Y-Y-You protected me. That blast could have killed you."

"Oh… I guess it could ha—" he stopped talking when she kissed him on the cheek. Henry turned away, not quite sure how to react. He was relieved when Terriermon hopped up into his arms. His partner was okay and it allowed him not to react to Claire's actions yet. "You're okay! Jeez, you smell bad."

"WarGrowlmon freed me! I wish you could have seen the way Vikaralamon exploded! It was awesome. Pieces went everywhere before bursting into data!" Terriermon rambled on and on about the explosion.

Guilmon stood next to his tamer. Takato hugged the dinosaur and felt the digimon's stomach rumble. He laughed, "Did those battles make you hungry?"

"Yes," laughed Guilmon. He backed away from Takato's hug and became more serious. Guilmon told him, "Thanks for not giving up on me, Takatomon."

"Look up there!" Kenta shouted and pointed.

Makuramon was running across a rooftop and jumped into the sky. He turned toward the teens and laughed when they recognized Calumon in his arms. The monkey made eye contact with Kazu before disappearing into the rip in the sky. The sky returned back to normal after the two made the trip into the digital world. Makuramon left with parting words, "Thanks for Calumon. Everyone is going to die anyways."

"Another reason to make the trip to the digital world… Now we have two to find," Terriermon groaned.

"Look at the digimon… They can't do anymore today. They need rest," Jeri said, grasping Leomon's hand. Guilmon appeared to be the most exhausted out of the digimon.

"I hate to say it, but Jeri's right. Most of the day has passed and Terriermon needs a break. Battling three digimon is a lot to handle," Henry jumped in.

"It's not like we have school tomorrow anyways. Indramon kind of destroyed it," stated Kenta.

"Alright, we take a night to rest," Takato started. He waited until he had everyone's attention. "Tomorrow morning we'll break up into groups to search around town for a digital field. There has to be one somewhere."


	23. Chapter 23

"Guilmon, what are you doing?" laughed Takato as he sat on the ground. He was sitting across from Henry, who appeared to have barely slept. They were in the hideout and taking a break from walking around the park. There had been no portal anywhere.

"I'm searching for the portal," the digimon answered him and continued to dig his hole deeper into… Wherever he was trying to dig. Guilmon didn't know. It could be hidden under the hideout. There was no harm in trying.

"Can I help?" Terriermon asked Henry. The bunny stood at the top of the hole and stared down unto Guilmon. The dinosaur had dug so far down and to the side that all Terriermon could see was his tail.

"No," Henry quickly told his partner. Normally he wouldn't care, but that time he did. He loosened the brace on his foot to let it breathe. After walking around for a couple of hours, it was good to take a break. Henry probably wasn't supposed to take it off, but he didn't care. As he followed through on that action, he told Terriermon, "I just gave you a bath last night. I don't want another stinky bunny in the house."

"I hate smelling like lemons! I'd rather smell like that bog again." Terriermon flopped backwards onto the ground. Dirt kicked up around him and he breathed in. The bunny let the dirt settle on him. It masked his new smell a bit, but the aroma was still strong.

"I wonder how the others are doing," Takato suddenly thought aloud. He checked the time on his phone before clicking onto Facebook out of boredom. They had to rest because of Henry and he hadn't checked his phone in awhile. One of the first things that popped onto his newsfeed was that Henry changed his profile picture. The picture was of him, Claire, and Suzie smiling. Suzie was holding digimon cards in her hands. Smiling, Takato told him, "That's a nice profile picture."

"Oh, thanks." Henry's face became red. Claire had taken that photo and posted it to Facebook when she stayed the night. He changed his profile picture when he was happy. After she shut down his invitation to come back over, the picture became a reminder of that. The boy sighed, "Did she stay with you last night?"

"Yeah," Takato answered him. He saw whatever high spirit Henry had left slip away with that response. Realizing why he asked him, Takato also blushed. The thought of him and Claire together was strange. They had been best buds for as long as he could remember. Neither had ever liked the other. It would never happen or last long. Takato quickly added, "But it's nothing like that. She was just embarrassed after yesterday."

"What does that mean?" questioned Henry and racked his mind for an answer. He settled on when she kissed him on the cheek. Henry had completely blown her off during that moment. It couldn't have been easy to do such a bold action, but he didn't know how he was supposed to respond. Groaning, he said, "Never mind…"

"She wants to stay in the digital world," Takato suddenly dropped that bomb. He had known since they decided to venture there. She didn't want anyone other than him to know, but he couldn't keep it a secret from Henry. The two obviously liked each other, so it was fair if Henry was told. The teen added on, "I've tried talking to her about it. She refuses to listen to me. Either we don't take her or we come back with her."

"What?!" Terriermon shouted, suddenly paying attention. The bunny stared at Henry and said, "You need to tell her next time you see her. Stop being an idiot."

"She'll come back. I'll make sure of it," Henry told the two with conviction in his voice.

"Takatomon, I don't think there's a portal down here," Guilmon called up from the hole.

Takato stood at the edge of the hole with Terriermon. He laughed when Guilmon was finally seen again. The dinosaur was covered in mud and dirt. The tamer answered his partner, "I don't know what you expected. The chance of the portal being under the hideout was slim, especially since there was no digimon battle in the park."

"You never know. Fate could have made it easy for us," Guilmon chuckled and tried to climb out of the hole. The digimon barely missed the edge of the hole. Takato held his hand out for Guilmon and the dinosaur grabbed his tamer's hand. There was a massive struggle to pull Guilmon out, but eventually Takato managed to pull him out.

"You're heavy. I need to stop giving you so much food," Takato joked when he sat back onto the floor. He took a couple of big breaths to even his breathing. The boy clapped his hands together to knock the mud off. "And a bath. I need to give you a bath."

"Don't let him! Baths are terrible!" Terriermon warned Guilmon. The bunny stuck his tongue out at Henry, who was putting the brace back on his foot. Terriermon snuggled into his tamer's lap, getting in the way of what he was trying to accomplish. "Henry, I'm sleepy. I don't think _we're _going to find the portal. Can we nap?"

"Wait, I'm getting a call right now. Someone must be successful!" Takato announced before answering his phone. He didn't even bother looking at the number. After sliding his finger across the screen to answer, he asked, "Hello?"

* * *

"Kenta, can I talk to you about something?" Kazu asked while they were walking down the street. They were supposed to be looking for a portal, but Kazu only had one thing on his mind. He stopped walking and stared at his best friend.

"Dude, if this is about the time you shit your pants at school, no one remembers. That was two years ago," Kenta laughed and continued to walk. When he realized Kazu wasn't following, he stopped. He crossed his arms and sighed, "If it's not that, then what?"

"I did something I'm not so proud of," started Kazu. His eyes searched the ground as if that was going to help him find the words he needed so badly. No way of wording could keep Kenta from hating him. So instead of telling him straight up, he tried to make Kenta promise. "Whatever I'm about to tell you, please promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Did you sleep with someone? Is it someone I know?" Kenta started questioning with a big grin on his face. He went through a list of names in his mind. The teen held up two fingers when he thought up only two possible girls. "The only girls that talk to you are Jeri and Claire."

"Stop! I didn't sleep with anyone!" Kazu yelled in frustration. That shut Kenta up. His friend began to realize the seriousness of the situation. Kazu let out a long sigh and shook his head. Sometimes talking to Kenta was useless and difficult. It was like Kenta thought he lived in a world where nothing bad happened.

"What's going on, Kazu? I won't tell anyone, I swear."

"I've done something really bad. You have to promise not to be mad also." After Kenta promised, Kazu sighed again. Kazu was ready to chicken out. _I have to tell someone_, he reminded himself. For his own sanity, someone had to know so he could talk about what happened. Without making eye contact, Kazu said at a barely audible level, "I helped out a Deva. Calumon wasn't taken from me. I gave him away."

"What?! Why?" Kenta was quick to question. Kazu winced at his outburst. He remembered he promised not to be mad, so he crossed his arms and spoke, "Sorry. Continue."

"He threatened my family. My dad's dead and he was going to kill my mom if I didn't."

"You should have told us! Takato could have done something about it," Kenta tried to tell his friend. Kenta patted Kazu's shoulder as he placed himself in his shoes. The choice wouldn't have been so easy to make.

"Not before Makuramon would have killed my mom. Then what was the point in telling? I would have lost the two most important people in my life."

Kenta stared at the ground. It wasn't okay that Kazu would betray them, but at the same time, Kazu did it for a good cause. He was disappointed, but he couldn't be mad. Then he imagined how the others would react if Kazu told them. Henry and Claire would lose it. Jeri would cry that Kazu threw their friendships away. Takato… Kenta couldn't imagine how mad or upset Takato would be. Takato would be in such a state of shock. The teen pushed the thoughts out of his mind and said, "I'm glad you came to me about this. You can't tell the others."

"I know. I'm going to make up for it, I swear. I want to help bring Calumon back."

Kazu swore to himself that he would be the one to find Calumon. He owed the little digimon that. Kazu only wished he could have been the one to find the portal, but it was neither he nor Kenta.

* * *

"Do you think you're going to get a digimon of your own when we visit the digital world?" Jeri asked as she tried to keep up with Claire. Claire was on a skateboard while Jeri was on foot. The past few hours had been silent between the two and she was going to change that. She would ask questions until Claire finally talked. The girl always talked to the others, so Jeri did not understand why she was treated with silence. Adding on to her question, she continued, "What if you got a Patamon? Patamon was on the show, right? He's a little cutie."

Claire skidded to a stop at her questions. She kicked the skateboard on its back end and grasped the front end of the skateboard to keep it up. After going over Jeri's questions again in her mind, she still couldn't believe Jeri asked her such a horrific question. Her response was, "Did you just ask if I wanted a Patamon? God, I hate those things. Fatamon, sorry _Patamon_, is so overrated. I'd rather have a potato as a digimon than one of those."

"There are food digimon?" Jeri asked, surprised that food digimon existed. She couldn't imagine food talking to her. It would give a whole other meaning to playing with her food.

"Uh, yeah. I find them odd. I have no idea if there's a potato though, if that was going to be your next question." Claire was about to hop back onto her skateboard, but stopped herself. She didn't care much for Jeri, but Takato had a thing for her and asked her to team up with Jeri during the search. The teen could honor Takato's request and not skate away anymore. Sighing, she stuffed the skateboard into her backpack. The back wheels hung out of the backpack.

"Well, regardless, be careful what you wish for! You might end up with a potato," giggled Jeri as she walked with Claire. Claire wasn't looking at her, but she wouldn't let that down her mood. She jokingly elbowed Claire and said, "Lighten up! I'm just messing around."

"I have stuff on my mind," was all Claire said. It was true. Whether or not she would receive a digimon was the last thing on her mind. Between finding the portal, wanting to stay in the digital world, and leaving behind her sister and all her friends, new and old, there wasn't much room left to worry about finding a digimon.

"Ohhhhh, is it Henry?" Jeri pried when Claire walked a bit faster. She saw Claire kiss Henry on the cheek. If she didn't have feelings for the blue-haired boy, Jeri would be more shocked about that than anything else in her life. Claire didn't respond to her, so Jeri added on, "Come on, you can tell me! We can be gal pals!"

"Hell no," Claire snapped at her. She didn't want to be mean, but that was what came out. Claire stopped walking and looked Jeri in the eye. Her sort of friend was frowning and it sent guilt through her. Sighing, Claire changed her tune, "Sorry. Just not used to having a girl friend. I'm used to guys not picking at me with questions."

"It's okay. You have plenty of time to get used to it! You and I will be around for a long time!" Jeri practically sang, her spirits lifted again.

"Someone find that portal soon," Claire grumbled to herself.

* * *

Yamaki didn't want to show his face in HYPNOS after being fired like that. He was already embarrassed over and over again for what had happened. It was such a fail at deleting the digimon from the human world. All of the leaders above him yelled at him in front of all of his workers and the monster makers. That was two sets of people to be embarrassed in front of.

He left his stupid keys in his office. The keys to his damn apartment. Yamaki managed to move all of his stuff out, with the help of Riley, but left his keys behind. Riley was waiting by the cars as he made the walk of shame back to his old workplace. All he had to do was sneak in fast and grab his keys. It could be simple. It had to be simple. The man couldn't be spotted.

Yamaki had no idea how it caught his eye. The tiniest of sparkle was seen. He had no idea why, but he wanted to investigate it. _No,_ he told himself. The mission was to find his keys, not stare at glitter in the air. If the floating particle was still there after he grabbed his keys, he would check it out.

"You see it too?" a voice asked.

Yamaki whipped around to see the blonde hair girl from earlier. What was her name? Alice. Alice McCoy. The girl pointed at the particles in the air. She gripped at Yamaki's wrist and pulled him closer to the mysterious particles. He wanted to stop Alice, but he was curious as well.

A digital portal was in HYPNO's damn backyard. How it appeared, he didn't know. Alice didn't appear to know either. The portal wasn't very big and almost appeared to be shrinking. He reached for it as if that was going to stop the portal from shrinking. Yamaki stopped his hand right before he would have made contact.

"Please don't destroy it," Alice suddenly said, causing Yamaki to jump. The girl didn't speak much before when he was visiting with the monster makers, but she had much to say in that moment. Alice continued, "My sister has a friend stuck in the digital world. Maybe if they save her and kill whoever took her, digimon will stop bio-emerging."

Yamaki didn't say anything. The portal could be used to his advantage. The children wanted to go to the digital world, so he'll allow that. Maybe Alice was right. If she ended up wrong, he would make sure to delete digimon for good. He'd find a way. He let Alice pull out her phone and make a phone call.

* * *

Takato rounded up everyone the moment he received the call from Alice. He was surprised that he and Henry were the last to arrive. Then again, he wasn't surprised since Henry moved so slowly. Guilmon and Terriermon even ran ahead because they were too excited to stay behind.

"The portal looks as though it is shrinking," Renamon commented as she looked it over.

"There isn't much time. We need to go now," Leomon added on.

"But what about our parents? Shouldn't we tell them bye?" Jeri asked and held a hand to her mouth. Surely they couldn't just leave.

"I left my parents a note this morning and left it by the coffee pot. I said I'm looking for a portal and if I don't return we found it. Mine will know," Kenta admitted.

"This isn't a game, Kenta. Do you know how emotionally scarring that probably was?" Takato threw at his friend while handing his phone over to Henry, who asked for it. After a few seconds, Takato realized what he had absentmindedly done. He asked, "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Emailing my dad to let him know what's happening and where I am going," Henry said as he typed away on Takato's phone. When he was finished, he handed the phone back. "I suggest you do too."

"We can't just up and leave! We're not at all prepared!" Takato exclaimed and crossed his arms.

"Didn't you and I pack food in your backpack just this morning? You knew we might have to leave right away. You even drew a banner with all of us on it," Claire commented. She had an eyebrow raised. Did he expect her to forget?

"Momentai, we'll be back soon. Your parents will forgive us when we return with a missing girl and Calumon," Terriermon told Takato. The digimon gave him a smile from on top of Henry's head.

"Yeah, we have to go save Calumon," Kazu added on.

"Whenever you decide to head in, take this. Email me from inside the digital world to let me know you made it okay," Yamaki cut in and handed a device to Takato. Takato investigated the object but the technology was unfamiliar to him. He wanted ask Yamaki how to work it, but the man was already gone.

"We must go now," Renamon warned.

Jeri grasped onto Leomon's arm. Renamon placed her hands onto Kazu and Kenta's back, ready to push them forward when the others were ready. Claire hugged Alice goodbye and Alice wished her sister luck. Terriermon gripped tighter onto Henry's head to let Henry know that he was ready to head in. Guilmon stared at Takato, waiting for his approval.

"Fine. There's no changing any of your minds," Takato sighed. He quickly typed an email up to his parents and sent it. Takato pulled his goggles over his eyes and stated, "Onward then! To new sights and places! For Rika and Calumon!"

Takato ran in first with Guilmon his heels. Yeah, he was terrified, but he was more excited than anything else. He would be one of the first humans into the digital world! What wasn't exciting about that? The tamer knew Kazu, Kenta, and Renamon weren't far behind because Kenta suddenly started crying about how he suddenly changed his mind. Kenta called out, "Wait, don't make me go! I'm not ready!"

"Scaredy cat!" Jeri called not too far behind them. Leomon's chuckle could be heard.

Claire didn't follow the others, also suddenly scared. She was scared to leave her old home and to see her new home. What if it wasn't what she expected? There was no way she would come back to the real world while her dad was around. Just the thought of leaving everything she knew behind scared her. A warm hand squeezing her own brought her out of her thoughts.

"We'll enter together, okay?" Henry said with a smile on his face. The boy gave her hand another squeeze before he said, "They'll leave us behind if we don't go."

Claire nodded and walked in at the same time as Henry and Terriermon. The last thing that could be heard in both the human world and the digital was words from Terriermon. Frustrated with Henry, Terriermon grunted, "So close!"


	24. Chapter 24

The loud ticking was driving her crazy. Was it too hard to have some peace and quiet? She rolled over and covered her ears. The sound was muffled slightly, but not enough to keep it from being annoying. Groaning, Rika sat up and rubbed her eyes. The tamer gasped when she realized she could move on her own.

"Am I… Free?" Rika asked out loud and glanced at her hands. She clinched her fists a couple of times to confirm it. Letting out a long sigh, she smiled. No more Melissa. Rika didn't care to know what happened to the evil virus, for it no longer concerned her body. As long as she was in control, she didn't care where Melissa was or what happened. After being trapped for so long, she was free to search for a way home.

Rika checked her surroundings. A dim campfire burned before her and barely lit up the night. Realizing she was cold, she scooted closer to the fire. Her clothes were covered in the snow she was laying in. She brushed the snow off, realizing that it wasn't snow at all. It was cold and wet, but not as solid as snow. _Am I on a cloud?_ The fire was dimming out, but Rika didn't know how to make it bigger. Nothing that she could see would burn in the fire.

Morning came suddenly. In a blink of an eye, light spread throughout the snowy-cloud land and the sky was bluer than the sky back home. She spotted what looked like Earth up in the sky with pink streams trailing from it. The streams trickled down to the digital world and were constantly moving. Rika wondered if that was home, but she didn't know what the pink streams would be. The girl also wondered how she could return home if the Earth was up in the sky.

Turning her attention back to the digital world, she noticed writing in the snowy-clouds near the fire. Rika stood up and backed up, so she could read the entire message. The letters had been spelt out with sticks and some had been knocked out of place. Using what she could read to fill in the blanks, she figured out what the whole message said. She read the message, "'Be back soon. Please don't leave.'"

She stifled a laugh. Since she was awake, why would she stay? Rika had no idea who had taken her to the snowy place. There was no way of knowing she could trust the digimon. It occurred to her that it might also be a human that had taken her there. Either way, it didn't matter. No way would she stay around for some mystery person or digimon to return.

Rika walked away from the fire, not sure where she was heading. Anywhere that was away from that campsite. With every step she took, the ticking became louder. She began to notice the gears all around her and wondered if it was a giant clock. A slight smile crept onto her face at the thought of how weird it would be to be inside a giant clock. Weirder scenery was seen on the Digimon anime, so a giant clock wasn't too far out there.

After walking for what felt like hours, she came across a cuckoo clock sticking out of the ground. The ticking was at an all time high when she was steps away. Curious, she checked the time on the clock. The second hand was stuck, therefore making it impossible to know the time. Rika groaned that she had thought it would be that simple. Nothing was simple anymore. Thinking she could at least fix the second hand, she gave the second hand a tiny push to get it moving again.

"No! Don't do it!" a voice yelled too late. The second hand was already moving. The digimon that was now next to Rika appeared horrified. He appeared to be a clock himself. Rika was going to ask the digimon his name, but he already began to speak again. "This is horrible! This is going to be terrible! Maybe it won't be so bad. What do you think, Hagurumon?"

Rika could see a floating set of gears over her shoulder. It had eyes and a mouth, so it had to be a digimon. Before Hagurumon could speak, the clock gears all around them began to slow down to a halt. The other digimon asked and screamed something about perfection. The silence that followed was haunting. The loud area had fallen silent and still. Her eyes searched around to see if maybe just one gear was still moving, but she had no such luck. Everything was still other than herself, Hagurumon, and the clock digimon. Hagurumon gulped, "Clockmon, I think we're in trouble."

"What's going on?" Rika asked, but she knew she wasn't going to receive an answer. The two digimon were panicking and stared at the cuckoo clock. It was as if they were waiting on something to happen. She waited alongside them and stared intently at the clock. A tiny bird popped out and cooed a few times before retreating back into the clock. Rika sighed, "That's it? You were worried about the clock alarm? Lame. I'm out of here."

"Wait!" Hagurumon called after Rika as she walked away. He stopped in front of her, which forced her to stop also. She crossed her arms and waited for him to say whatever he needed to say. "You're a tamer, aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah. How did you know that?" she snapped back, but she already knew the answer. Rika was in the digital world. If she wasn't a tamer, she was destined to become one. Her thoughts trailed to Renamon. She wondered if the fox even still cared for her. The digimon was ditched and alone. If the roles were reversed, Rika wouldn't anything to do with her partner. All Rika could do was hope that Renamon knew she had been possessed.

"That's not good! It's absolutely awful! Eh, maybe he won't actually care," Clockmon rambled as he ran around the cuckoo clock. He grabbed onto Rika's arm and began to pull her the opposite direction she was heading. Rika tried to resist, but Clockmon was just as strong as her. They weren't moving anywhere. Clockmon suddenly froze and stared off into the distance.

"He's coming!" announced Hagurumon just as the ground began to shake. The tremors were strong enough to knock Rika and Clockmon off of their feet. Hagurumon floated to Clockmon's side. He turned toward Rika and warned her, "Megadramon is going to kill your digimon."

"Renamon isn't in the digital world with me!" Rika exclaimed as the ground shook again.

"What?! You came here without your digimon? This is dreadful! This is t—"

"Shut up, would you!" Rika interrupted Clockmon. The digimon was on her last nerve.

A figure pushed out of the snowy-cloud ground. Purple wings sprouted out of the ground and flapped a couple of times. Clockmon began to scream when arms broke out next. The mechanical hands crashed into the ground and pushed upwards to free the rest of the body. A horrific cry rang in the air as Megadramon's head popped out of the ground. Rika covered her ears as the scream became shriller. A chill went down her spin when it appeared Megadramon was glaring right at her.

"Renamon isn't here. What does he want with me?" she wondered aloud. Rika took a couple of steps back before she realized there was no point in running. Megadramon would catch her before she would even start running.

"He doesn't know your digimon isn't here. He sees a human and—" Hagurumon started.

Megadramon let out another shriek before the rest of his body was free. With one powerful flap of his wings, Megadramon was in the air and almost directly above Rika. Rika continued to back up, but bumped into something much bigger than her. A tall, gray figure growled from behind her. Its wings were spread and knees bent, ready to jump into the air. She moved out of its way just in time for it to launch into the air.

"Cyberdramon! This is great! This is fantastic!" Clockmon shouted.

Cyberdramon slammed into Megadramon with such force that the pair went spiraling in the air. Megadramon tried to flip Cyberdramon off, but the digimon held on tight. The man-like dragon bit down on Megadramon's neck. Bits of data began to float away the harder Cyberdramon bit. Nasty growl-like laugh could be heard from Cyberdramon the longer he held onto the other dragon's neck.

Shrieks filled the air as Megadramon reached for Cyberdramon. The metal hands gripped the digimon and threw him off. Two missiles were shot out of the hands and followed Cyberdramon. A smirk came across Cyberdramon when he grabbed onto one of the missiles. He spun it around and, with all his strength, threw it toward the other missile. The two collided and blew up directly in front of Megadramon. The giant dragon fell to the ground with a mighty crash while Cyberdramon landed gracefully on his feet.

"Desolation claw!" Cyberdramon called out and slashed into the air. A bright light of energy was sent toward the defeated Megadramon. With what energy the giant dragon had left, he pulled himself mostly out of the way. The light still hit his tail, causing it to burst into data. Megadramon let out a loud scream as he watched part of himself disappear. Cyberdramon readied himself to attack again, but a bright whip of light wrapped itself around his arm.

"Cyberdramon, stop! He's defeated. Leave him be!" a teenage boy commanded Cyberdramon. The whip led straight to the D-Power in the boy's hand. He tugged on the D-Power when Cyberdramon tried to resist. When the digimon yielded, the boy allowed the whip to return to the D-Power. The moment the whip was put away, Cyberdramon hopped back into action. The boy yelled after his digimon, "No! Stop!"

The boy's command was too late. Cyberdramon set up the same attack, but the second time around he didn't miss. The desolation claw was a direct hit to Megadramon's face. The ultimate digimon burst into data, which Cyberdramon happily absorbed. During the entire scene, his tamer was struck with horror, but he didn't appear too surprised. Without looking at Rika, he sighed, "Every time I think I finally taught him, he does this…"

_I know you_, Rika found herself thinking. She couldn't place how though. Everything about him was familiar. His voice, his tall brown hair, the way he carried himself... It was all so recognizable. It wasn't until his name was said that she remembered exactly who that kid was.

"Ryo! You saved us!" Hagurumon exclaimed with a smile. Ryo sighed, but smiled. Yeah, they were all safe, but at what cost? Megadramon was gone. He wasn't a good character, but that didn't mean he couldn't become good.

"_Ryo_," Rika repeated with venom in her tone. Now she knew. It was that boy that creamed everyone at the card tournament, including her. The tournament was easy until the final match. Ryo didn't even break a sweat when he beat her. She recalled how when it was all over everyone swarmed Ryo and treated him like some hero. It was just a stupid card game. He had gone missing soon after the tournament and had been missing for quite some time. "So this is where you went off to."

"Do I know you?" Ryo asked, but he never received an answer. Cyberdramon had made his way back to his tamer. The digimon was more important than the answer to Rika's question. Ryo sighed and shook his head at the digimon. "Cyberdramon, you can't just do that. We could have just imprisoned Megadramon again. Everything would have been okay. If you would have just given him a ch—"

"A chance to break free again and kill someone?" growled Cyberdramon. Ryo was too kind-hearted. If the digimon had anything to teach his partner, it was that old habits don't change. Megadramon would have just killed whoever freed him next and been on the search for digimon with tamers. The dragon was under some impression that absorbing the data of digimon with tamers would bring him into the real world. "He was nothing but a dumb clump of data."

"Looks like you can't even control your digimon," chuckled Rika at the bickering partners. Ryo had the upper hand in the card game, but it appeared his relationship with his partner was flawed. Renamon at least listened to Rika. They had a strong friendship that was ended early thanks to Melissa. Granted, Rika wish she had treated Renamon better, but at least they got along.

"Hey, it's not about control. I don't want to control him," Ryo quickly snapped back at Rika. If he wanted to control Cyberdramon, it wouldn't be a partnership. Their friendship would be a dictatorship. Regaining his composure, Ryo added, "I want Cyberdramon to learn the difference between murder and when killing is the only option. Megadramon was a death that could have been avoided. Cyberdramon only fought him because he likes to fight. He wants to take down anyone that is considered a strong enemy."

"So Cyberdramon is out of control?" Rika pried again.

"You know, you're being rude to someone that has saved your life twice now," Ryo stated before turning away from her. His attention was on Clockmon and Hagurumon. Rika was obviously fine, but he hadn't asked the digimon if they were okay. "How are you guys holding up? Megadramon was pretty big and terrifying."

"He was hideous! He was horrible! I guess he wasn't that bad. Nothing Cyberdramon couldn't handle," Clockmon answered with admiration in his voice. Ryo smiled and patted the clock digimon on the back. Rika could practically see the stars form in Clockmon's eyes. It made her want to barf.

"Can you fix the clock, Ryo?" questioned Hagurumon as he floated around the cuckoo clock. The gear digimon glared at Rika when she followed Ryo over to the clock. He added on just for her, "_Someone _had to stop the ticking."

"Be nice, Hagurumon. She didn't know," Ryo said simply as he kneeled in front of the cuckoo clock. He watched the second hand make a full circle before he thought of a solution. His hand flew to his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife. The blade reflected the light of the digital sun off of it. Ryo knew what he had to do, but inside it made him sad to see the knife go. The day his father handed the knife down to him was one of the best days of his life. The knife was a present for his fourteenth birthday about a year and a half beforehand. It was the only physical attachment Ryo had left to the human world. With his heart weighing heavily in his chest, Ryo stabbed the knife into the clock, freezing the second hand in place once more. Trying not to let the others know his sadness, he announced, "That should do it."

A loud creak followed his words as the gears began to spin again. Clockmon danced and Hagurumon made circles around his friend as all the gears slowly moved like it once had. The ticking was a quiet noise at first, but grew louder the faster the gears moved. Everything was back to normal on the snowy-cloud plane.

* * *

"Are you even going to talk to me?" questioned Ryo as he threw another log onto the fire. Rika had been silent the whole rest of the day as they walked. Well, she walked and Ryo followed with Cyberdramon not too far behind. Despite her harshness to him earlier, Ryo couldn't stand to see her go out into the digital world alone. If anything happened to her, Ryo couldn't live with that on his hands. Sighing, he sat down across the fire from her. "You could at least tell me your name. You owe me that much."

"You don't even remember my damn name. That's great," Rika said and crossed her arms. Ryo was the only person that could ever match her skills in the card game. She hated that she wasn't the best. Recalling that that sort of behavior was what drew Melissa to her, she pushed the thoughts away. Wherever Melissa was, Rika hoped the virus wouldn't come near her again.

Ryo opened his mouth to retort, but it wasn't worth the battle. He shut it and stared at the fire. Other than the constant ticking, the only noise heard was the crackling of the fire. The silence lasted what felt like an hour to Ryo before he found something else to say to her. The tamer asked, "Why were you in the desert alone? Someone left you there to die. You _would _have died if we didn't find you. Where's your digimon?"

Rika didn't answer him. All his question did was cause anger. Melissa must have possessed someone else then have Rika left out in the desert to die. The virus had the girl discarded once she didn't need her anymore. Her fists clinched her pants in anger at the thought. It even made her angrier than it was _Ryo _that saved her. Instead of answering his question, she asked her own, "How long ago was that?"

"Two days," Ryo told her. "You had been asleep for two days straight."

"I have to find a way back home." With that, Rika stood up and headed into the night. She had no idea where she was walking, but she had to keep moving. Rika had to find her way back to Renamon and her family. Whenever she reached home, the whole Melissa incident would be left behind her. Everything would be back to normal. That was the hope that drove her to keep going.

Cyberdramon landed in front of her, stopping her from moving forward. Rika gave the digimon a shove, but Cyberdramon didn't move. He gripped Rika's shoulders to hold her in place. Ryo made his way beside his partner and commanded Cyberdramon to let go. The digimon was hesitant, but listened to his tamer. The teen told her, "I can't just let you walk off alone into the night. You'll die out there alone."

"Better alone than here." She tried to step around, but Cyberdramon moved in front of her. Letting her anger out, she spat, "Move, you piece of shit. I have to go home."

Ryo stepped in between the two. Such words could easily make Cyberdramon snap, so Ryo had to put an end to it before his partner lashed out. He held his hands in the air, trying to calm both parties down. The tamer stated, "Look, we're not letting you be alone. We'll help you find a way home. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with us for now."


End file.
